BY BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN
Rowdies Observer
Tampa Bay Rowdies stud goalkeeper John McCarthy pounded the sod after two-time defending USL Champion Louisville City equalized late (1-1) after a stellar night. Who could blame Mac-Wall in goal? He’d blanketed everything else all night … hell, he’s been blanketing it all season.
Yet why look at it negatively? We just stated the truth … Louisville City is the two-time USL Champion. Many of those smiling feisty faces on the other side, dressed in away-white? They were the same ones that won championships in 2017 and 2018.
They’re physical as hell, they owned the possession in the second half … but the Rowdies owned them in the first half. The bottom line was hey … it was a good match. Grueling indeed.
Louisville City’s new head coach John Hackworth has been a head coach in the MLS, for the U20 and U17 US Mens National Team program and also at the D-I ranks of college many moons ago. The Tampa Bay native (Dunedin to be exact) knows what the hell he’s doing.
This wasn’t supposed to be easy tonight. This isn’t a chicken-with-its-head-cutoff expansion club.
Andrew Tinari’s goal was gorgeous in the first half and the Rowdies clearly dominated. There were other excellent chances created, like Pape Diakite’s header off the set piece. It could have been 2-0 or 3-0 but hey, it didn’t happen.
In the second half adjustments were obviously made and depending on how you look at it (“nasty” if Louisville is your opponent, “physical” if they’re your favorite club) these guys came to lay the hammer down and may have gotten inside the Rowdies’ collective head.
It was a good one tonight. Don’t be fooled by Louisville City being middle of the pack after five or six matches. That won’t hold up. That was a good team to earn a point on this fine April 13 eve.
The Rowdies Observer 