KENNESAW, Ga. — Following up from the dominance of the New York Red Bulls II match the Atlanta United 2 game was always going to bring the Tampa Bay Rowdies down to earth somewhat. Thankfully for the Rowdies that wasn’t on the scoreboard but in a lot of areas they were outplayed meaning a few key numbers really mattered.
The Rowdies were heavily out-possessed, only managing 35.6 percent of the share of the ball. That saw ATL UTD 2 pass the ball around a lot more and try to build things up. But what stopped that leading to complete control of the match? The inexperience that allowed Tampa Bay to dominate the aerial duels (winning 67.7 percent of them) leading to that initial control, something the team has done all year, a constant refrain in these stories throughout the season.
One thing that really helped Atlanta keep possession was how many times the players were fouled. The Rowdies defense was at times overzealous and gave away 19 fouls. That stopped them from winning the ball back and cutting into that possession statistic.
What was pleasing for the Rowdies was the crossing accuracy, Tampa Bay managed a 27.8 percent crossing accuracy in the match which allowed the team better looks at goal. Most of the away shots happened in the box at the end of a good cross. What was really notable was how those crosses all hit almost exactly the same spot which can be seen in the adjacent crossing graphic.
It wasn’t a complete performance, defensively the team wasn’t quite as good as it should have been, and has been at other stages this season. But the defense did enough for a clean sheet. What was interesting in this match was how offensively the Rowdies were much better than the NYRBII match but put in four fewer goals. Football is a funny old game sometimes.
Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies
Florida Soccer Report 