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The Rowdies returned to practice Thursday morning with a two-hour training session at Al Lang Stadium, looking forward to Saturday's match against the Atlanta Silverbacks at Al Lang Stadium.

Tampa Bay Rowdies clinched a playoff spot last Saturday night with the 3-0 win against the Strikers at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. With the win, Tampa Bay also was awarded the Coastal Cup for the third straight season. The Rowdies opened up the scoring late in the second half when second half substitute Raphael Cox deflected defender Takuya Yamada’s header into the net in the 78th minute. NASL Defensive Player of the Week Frankie Sanfilippo added to the score in the 82nd minute after a great individual run past the Strikers defense and forward Carl Cort scored the third and final goal in the 90th minute to seal the 3-0 Rowdies victory.

“The players came back to practice on Tuesday after a hard game in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday,” said Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill. “Having travelled, I felt was necessary to give players a day to rest, but on Tuesday we came in and we worked on basically everything from shooting to technical work in terms of having possession of the ball.”

Hill commented on how the players have trained hard this week to prepare for Saturday’s match, where the players look to deliver another strong performance.

“We incorporated many things into our training routine,” said Hill. “We have focused on working on pressuring our opponents and making sure that once we have the ball we do not give it up. I think it’s also important that the players have a fair amount of rest so they can refuel their bodies and hydrate correctly, so Saturday night they can come and feel fresh and give their best efforts on the pitch.”

The Rowdies will host the Atlanta Silverbacks for the final regular season meeting between the clubs on Saturday, September 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Al Lang Stadium. For tickets, call 813-287-1539 or click here.