On Saturday night the Colorado Springs Switchbacks head to the Gulf Coast for a matchup against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match in the Sunshine State will begin at 5:30pm MT, with live coverage by the voice of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman, beginning at 5pm on XTRA Sports1300AM.
Last Saturday the Switchbacks fell 1-0 to Indy Eleven in the Midwest, while the Tampa Rowdies secured their fourth consecutive victory courtesy of a 3-0 demolition of RGVFC. The Switchbacks dominated the stat-charts against Indy, out-possessing the hosts 59% to 41%, out-shooting Indy 12-9, and completing 543 passes to the Eleven’s 377.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Switchbacks Head Coach Stephen Hogan: “Obviously [last Saturday was] very tough. We didn’t take any of our chances [against Indy]. We played very good football – it was enjoyable to watch at times – Indy went to a back five I think just to deal with certain things that we have. We couldn’t break them down and then they got us on the counter. We messed up once or twice on [our] execution in terms of defending, and we got punished by it. [Douglas] Martinez was their outlet all night and he caused us some damage, but if we executed the plan once or twice [Indy] wouldn’t have scored and we get out of there with a 0-0. It was just frustrating again because we actually played really well, but if you don’t take your chances you’re not going to win games”
Marco Rios. Rios made his professional debut last Saturday with the Switchbacks in Indianapolis. “[My professional debut] felt amazing – it felt like something I’ve never felt before. It was sad that we lost, but [personally] I enjoyed [making my debut]. Just playing our game and putting away our chances is something I feel like we need to do more, because we get a lot [of chances] and just never put them in the back of the net. And [Indy Eleven] get one [chance] and punish us right away. We’re always chasing a game when we should be winning the game by a lot and I think [in Tampa] we [need to] put away our chances and work as a team.”
“[Marco’s been] phenomenal,” said Head Coach Hogan. “There’s been one or two mistakes but he’s a kid; it’s going to happen. But the idea of his movement, the idea of him finding space in that 10 position is real and he did it against a really good XI. That Indy team are real good players – they’re established careermen – and [Marco] did well in between the lines. And even in training today (Wednesday) he had some movements that are creating spaces. He’s good on the ball and with his decisions on the ball – they’re not always going to be perfect, but he’s not far off it, so it was great to see.”
Rowdies Roundup:
Four Rowdies were named to the USL Championship Team of the Week after their victory against RGVFC – defender Aarón Guillén, midfielder Charlie Dennis, goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, and defender Ryan Spaulding. In Tampa’s four straight wins, the Rowdies have outscored their opponents by a combined tally of 11-1.
“Tampa had a really tough start to the season, and they’ve turned it around,” said Head Coach Hogan. “They’re organized, they’re fast, they’re good in between the lines, and they take chances with leaving players high, so it could be a very open game. We just have to see how they set up against what we’re going to throw at them at the beginning of the game. And we’ll try and adjust if needed and if not, it’s going to be the same question; are we going to take our chances on Saturday night? [The first 10-15 minutes] are massive. We’ve conceded early doors in the last three games and that’s sort of rocked us a little bit because before that we were scoring early.”
Vargish’s View:
A case could be made that this Tampa side is currently the best team the Switchbacks have yet faced in 2023. After a sluggish and loss-strewn start to the season, the Rowdies have rounded into scintillating form and are scoring goals for fun. Former University of Kentucky Wildcat JJ Williams and ex Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish star Charlie Dennis hold most of Tampa’s goal-threat, although five other Rowdies have found the net in 2023.
This has been a rough road trip for a Switchbacks team that has played well in recent weeks without being able to generate three points. On Saturday evening in Florida the Switchbacks have to get through the first quarter of an hour without conceding – JJ Williams has scored three goals inside the first 15 minutes of Tampa’s last two matches. If the Switchbacks can absorb Tampa’s early pressure and use their guile on the counter-attack, then Colorado Springs will have a chance to hand the Rowdies their first home loss since April 12th.