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The Rowdies returned to practice Tuesday morning with a two-hour indoor training session at GoalLine Sports due to the wet conditions at Shimberg, looking ahead to Saturday’s game at Ft. Lauderdale, where Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff spot with a win or an Edmonton loss or tie. The Rowdies played to a scoreless draw against the Puerto Rico on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.

“This week we’ll be focusing on alternative formations in the event that we are chasing games,” said Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill. “It is now playoff time and we are going into the final stretch. If we are behind in matches, we have to have an idea of how we can change that result and push men forward, but still as a cohesive unit rather than just push everyone up. I plan on introducing this to the players this week in the event that we are down in the upcoming matches.”

Hill commented on how crucial it is for the players to have the right playoff mentality going into the last five matches of the regular season.

“Our motto has always been to take each game as it comes and try to win as many games as we can,” stated Hill. “It’s all about gearing up for crunch time at the end of the season and if we are in the playoff, then we have to be able to win games or not lose them to be able to continue in the competition. Every day is important for us in terms of our development. This makes it easier to go into games fully prepared with our best foot forward and hopefully take the three points.”

The Rowdies travel to play the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers for the final regular season meeting between the clubs on Saturday, September 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.