Patience is a virtue that sends Rowdies through

ST. PETERSBURG — It wasn’t a vintage performance but the Tampa Bay Rowdies got the job done, advancing to the Eastern Conference Final with a 1-0 win against the Birmingham Legion on Saturday night.

The Legion clearly used the week off to study the Rowdies game plan and beat the Rowdies in several areas where Tampa Bay usually excels. Most notably Birmingham won the aerial duels, claiming 60 percent of them. This forced the Rowdies to be better on the ground, closing the gap to just half a percentage point in total duels. That would be a key part of how they won the match, overcoming deficiencies elsewhere.

Ultimately it was patience that saw the Rowdies finally breakthrough and that was shown statistically in the way they took shots. Tampa Bay continued one trend, taking most of its shots in the box. Of 10 total shots, seven of those came from inside the box. By comparison, Birmingham took half of its shots from outside the box.

That decision to wait for shots inside the box was boosted by something uncharacteristic, the Rowdies won the possession battle. In modern soccer that’s not so much a big point and they usually lose the possession battle. But in this case, winning possession was important. Patience was the key so that meant possession mattered as it was what was needed to break down the opposition.

The match as a whole was a story of strong defense, the two sides barely split in there, what was notable was the number of clearances in the match. There were 22 clearances in total, with the Rowdies making the bulk of them, clearing the ball 12 times.

It was a very even match and things will be tougher next week against perennial Eastern Conference finalist, Louisville City FC at Al Lang Stadium.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Shooting gallery sees Rowdies advance

ST. PETERSBURG — It was a performance that the losing side alleged flattered the Tampa Bay Rowdies but it was the regular season champions doing what they do better than others, scoring goals.

The goal-scoring came from having the willingness to take shots, in a match that was otherwise pretty tight the Rowdies went out and took a shot at goal. The hosts hit 21 shots, eight of them on target, a relentless pressure that was always going to tell and resulted in a big win. Those eight shots on target resulted in six goals which reflects the importance of just having a go, taking a shot, and seeing what happens. After all, Michael Scott did say “you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretzky”.

Interestingly Tulsa had more accurate shooting than Tampa Bay, managing 42.9 percent of its shots on target compared to the 38 percent of their opponents. But as can be seen on the below shot map, it was because of where those shots were taken that the Rowdies impact was better.

The Roughnecks’ shots came almost exclusively from outside of the box. This gives a goalkeeper more time to see the ball coming and make the save. By comparison all but three of the Tampa Bay shots came from inside the box, making it harder for the defense to deal with.

The reason those shots were coming from inside the box was the work of the Rowdies swinging the ball into the box, Tampa Bay hit 28 crosses with an impressive 46.4 percent accuracy. By Comparison, Tulsa hit 10 with just one hitting the mark. This would be crucial and lead to the difference despite Tulsa’s claims post-match that the score flattered the hosts it didn’t and the Rowdies cruised to the win.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Professional performance sees Rowdies edge closer to regular-season crown

LEESBURG, Va. — It was a typical performance from the Tampa Bay Rowdies which saw them get a professional win against Loudoun United. Losing possession, but winning aerial duels and sending in accurate crosses and shots proved to be the difference for the Rowdies.

Yet again the team lost possession giving up over a 60 percent share of the ball. Despite that, the Rowdies made up for it by winning the battles in the air. The team won 68.8 percent of the battles in the air which allowed them to make more of their possession share and create more chances.

Another thing that helped Tampa Bay make the most of the ball it did have was by crossing in accurately. The Rowdies were more successful due to what they were doing with the crosses. Loudoun was almost always bombing a ball forward into the box, this kept the Rowdies running flat and with the ball in front of them. By comparison, the Rowdies were sending the ball backward, which puts a team on its heels and catches them out. That allowed them to have a 31.3 percent success rate.

By having accurate crosses Tampa Bay was able to create more chances and have a lot more shots at goal winning that count 7-16. The shots on target count were even more lop-sided as the hosts were kept to just one shot on target. The visitors managed 37.5 percent of shots being on target, which was, of course, the difference.

Of course in a tight match, the defense is also going to matter a lot and that was the case in this match as well. The key statistic here is clearances, the Rowdies made 20 clearances, compared to only having five of theirs cleared away. With so many balls cleared away, it was difficult for Loudoun to score, while the Rowdies were scarcely stopped from getting chances away, resulting in the win.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Accurate shooting sees Rowdies clinch top spot in the east

ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rowdies used clinical shooting to win the Florida derby on Wednesday, a result that saw them clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference and guarantee home ground advantage through to at least the conference finals.

This result came despite the Rowdies being heavily out-possessed getting just a 36.9 percent share of the ball. That partially came from opening the scoring in the third minute, which allowed them to sit back and absorb the pressure while Miami was largely toothless.

As with almost every match, Tampa Bay has played this year the side dominated the aerial duels. Despite losing the duels on the whole when the ball was in the air the hosts dominated, winning the ball 66.7 percent of the time. That allowed them to set up where things would start, and prevent Miami crosses.

That aerial dominance stopped Miami from creating opportunities and is reflected in the crossing accuracy statistic. Miami only managed to complete 6.3 percent of crosses. By comparison, The Rowdies completed 28.6 percent of theirs creating more opportunities.

With such a disparity in the crossing accuracy that led to another statistic, shooting accuracy, by completing more crosses the Rowdies were able to send 42.9 percent of their shots on target. By comparison, Miami didn’t get a single shot on target in the match.

This is reflected in the shot chart seen above, the Rowdies had only three shots on target. Miami only managed one shot in the box. Reflecting another strong Tampa Bay defensive performance.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Lions lone goal enough despite shooting gallery

CINCINNATI, Oh. — Orlando City SC managed a narrow 1-0 win over Cincinnati on the road this weekend, but it should have been by a lot more. By dominating the shot count the Lions controlled the match despite probably having some disappointment about the scoreline.

The shot count was heavily skewed to Orlando, 18-9, doubling up on the hosts. Despite that the shots-on-target gap was much lower 5-3, showing the main reason the visitors didn’t get a bigger win, wasteful shooting.

One good thing for OCSC on the shot data is looking at the shot chart above and seeing where Cinci took shots from. All the shots from Cincinnati were at a bad angle which made it difficult for the side to score. On the other hand, Orlando was taking its shots directly in front of the goal, despite many coming from distance, which allowed more clear-cut chances.

What limited the Lions’ chances was how well Cincinnati did in the one-on-one battles in duels, winning them 46-38, which stopped Orlando from having more control of the match and resulted in more chances for the visitors.

Orlando kept Cinci off the scoresheet in part by keeping the crosses from being successful. The visitors made 27 clearances in the match to stop the attacks. That meant all 12 of the crosses from Cincinnati didn’t find a target man keeping them off the scoresheet.

While not a dominant performance by any means it was a successful result and at this late stage of the season sometimes that is all that matters.

Photo courtesy Orlando City SC/Major League Soccer

RedBulls resist Rowdies rampage

ST. PETERSBURG — Given what happened the last time New York RedBulls II visited Al Lang Stadium fans had been expecting a big Rowdies win so it was a significant upset that this match ended in a 1-1 draw. There were a few differences in this match that made the difference.

One thing that was the same was the aerial duels count, this is how the Rowdies play so it was expected, especially with the relative experience of the two sides. The hosts won 64.4 percent of the aerial duels asserting their dominance in that area, which led to the dominance of the match, despite the final score.

It’s becoming a worrying trend, Tampa Bay gave up 13 interceptions in this match. It shows that the Baby Bulls had learned from the last match. Conversely, the hosts made 15 interceptions, so they at least one the statistic but should be concerned about how many they have been giving up lately.

What was different was the way the Rowdies’ defense was set up, there was no offside trap, and NYRBII were never caught offside, that’s something that stopped the youngsters on their last trip.

Crossing accuracy was bad in this match, it wasn’t one for a delightful cross into the box that resulted in a stunning header or bicycle finish. It was especially bad for the visitors who didn’t manage a single successful cross all night but the Rowdies weren’t much better with a 16.7 percent accuracy.

Shooting accuracy was interesting, the Red Bulls II managed only 15.4 percent on target, making it a little miracle that the ball went in at all. By comparison, Tampa Bay managed 46.7 percent, a number higher than their season average, no wonder the fans at Al Lang felt aggrieved by the final score. This came down to impressive last-ditch defending from New York with six blocked shots.

That defending also shows up in another data point, clearances. The Baby Bulls made 33 clearances in the match and that finally shows the difference between the two matches. NYRBII grew in its defensive work allowing it to steal a point from Tampa Bay.

Rowdies stay winless in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — There’s something about Pittsburgh, maybe it’s the river? Maybe it’s the high northern latitude? Maybe it’s being inland? But Tampa Bay just can not buy a win away to the Riverhounds. That run continued with a 2-0 loss on Sunday. The key for Pittsburgh? Starving the Rowdies of chances and punishing them for some uncharacteristically poor defense.

The shot count heavily favored the Hounds, 13-6 while the Rowdies did manage more shots on target (4-3) the conversion of on-target shots was 66.6 percent by Pittsburgh. Sometimes it’s just about how many chances you create and the hosts showed that in this match.

Pittsburgh created that lead in how it played. Accurate crossing (25 percent) allowed for plenty of chances, with three golden opportunities set up by a cross. The heat map above shows how the Riverhounds played, moving the ball out to the wing and then getting it into the box made it trickier for the Rowdies to defend.

Another thing that allowed the ball to get into the box was some poor defensive work from Tampa Bay. The Rowdies lost more tackles than they won, managing only a 45.5 percent success rate. Something unusual for this side this year, that allowed the space on the wings to cross the ball into the box.

One pleasing note for the Rowdies was the continued domination in the air. Tampa Bay won 66.7 percent of the aerial duels. That allowed the team to deal with crosses and keep the score down from what it could have been.

Despite the result, the conference title was clinched and from here the goal is sealing the Eastern Conference regular-season title and then the USL Championship regular-season title.

Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC/Chris Cowger

Controlling the ball gets Rowdies magic number to one

ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rowdies are just one win away from clinching the top spot in the division following an entertaining 4-2 win over Charleston Battery on Thursday night. Possession was key for the Rowdies, a big shift from the match last weekend between the two teams. From there dominating the match in several vital areas followed.

Possession isn’t always important in modern soccer, but it’s not meaningless. Especially when you control as much of it as the Rowdies did on Thursday, 60.6 percent. Starving your opponents of even 40% of a share of possession really puts you in the driver’s seat and that’s how the hosts controlled this match.

It’s not just having the ball that matters it’s what you do with it and the Rowdies certainly did plenty with the ball, scoring four goals. What was impressive was how accurate everything was. Passing accuracy was 87.4 percent and 80.1 percent in the Charleston half. The crossing was an impressive 43.5 percent way ahead of the Battery’s 26.7. As a result of these numbers, Tampa Bay managed 17 shots in the match, 12 of them on target giving a phenomenal 70.6 percent accuracy.

That work allowed the Rowdies to patiently set up opportunities and led to almost all of the chances coming from inside the box as can be seen in the above shot chart. Those from outside came in front of the goal so, at easy angles which made it easier to score, only one of the Rowdies shots from outside the box was off target.

What was really astounding was that all of this came despite how good the defense of Charleston was, managing an 87.5 percent tackle rate. Tampa Bay succeeded by avoiding getting into contests and holding the ball to produce a plethora of chances.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

Despite some disadvantages Rowdies overcome Battery

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Tampa Bay Rowdies clinched a playoff place thanks to a 2-1 win against the Charleston Battery on Saturday night but that came not because of some domination but in spite of being statistically outplayed.

The Rowdies did manage to win a significant statistic, winning 13 interceptions to seven. That is ultimately what became the difference in the match. With a significant lack of possession, Charleston had a 58.6 percent share of the possession, the Rowdies needed to do something like stealing possession to make amends for giving up so much time without the ball.

Another key reason for the win came in two areas, crossing and clearances. Charleston swung in 31 crosses in the match but only at an accuracy of 19.4 percent. That mostly happened because of the defensive clearances as the Rowdies made 25 clearances to stop those efforts resulting in a clear chance.

Despite both teams having 12 fouls, Tampa Bay stayed out of the book more often, managing only three cards to the Battery’s six. By having fewer players on a yellow card the Rowdies were able to defend more robustly than Charleston, who had to be anxious about losing a player.

With less of the ball, Tampa Bay also had fewer chances, and as such to win had to be more clinical and this is seen in the shooting accuracy numbers. The Rowdies managed three shots fewer than Charleston but had the same number of shots on target, this led to a 42.9 percent shooting accuracy, with a 20 percent conversion rate.

Despite conceding a goal it was yet again a strong defensive performance which gave the Rowdies a vital win on its season.

NWSL suspends matches in light of sexual abuse controversy

CHICAGO — After a tumultuous week off the pitch, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has suspended all matches this weekend.

The decision came following revelations of sexual abuse by North Carolina Head Coach Paul Riley, leading to him being fired by the club, the investigation into Washington Spirit which led to Richie Burke being fired, and the revelation that OL Reign’s Head Coach Farid Benstiti’s resignation came after a formal complaint of verbal abuse from a player

The statement was simple, “The National Women’s Soccer League announced today that given the gravity of the events of the last week, matches scheduled for this weekend will not occur.”

The turmoil didn’t stop there, with the Athletic revealing that among the issues around the league was the blind eye that the league office took to these issues that prompted two significant resignations. Commissioner Lisa Baird has resigned after less than a year in charge of the league and general counsel Lisa Baird has joined her.

Along with these issues, the matters have been taken up by both the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for an investigation and FIFA who released a, mostly ridiculed, statement expressing their concerns about the events happening in the league.

As a result of the events, the NWSL Player’s Association has announced that it will have a sports psychologist available and has set up an anonymous tip-line for players to report abuse.

In addition, the NWSLPA issued a series of demands with a deadline that passed yesterday afternoon, that an investigation is launched into the allegations, in line with the Anti-Harassment policy, that anyone (or teams as a whole) who are found to have breached the policy be immediately suspended and that NWSL reveal how Paul Riley was hired by another NWSL club after an investigation into abusive conduct.

The final part of those demands hasn’t been followed up on yet, but the wording from the Player’s Association implies that this can wait until after the investigation. The league hasn’t made an announcement if it commenced the investigation at this time.

While it is only this week’s matches canceled at this time it’s difficult to see how NWSL can get players back on the pitch in a league where only five of the seven coaches that have been fired this year are because of abuse. The players could not be blamed if they refused to play out this season.

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