ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 20, 2018) — The Tampa Bay capped a tumultuous week with a 2-2 draw against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium, snapping a four-game losing streak in all competitions.
The match marked Neill Collins’ coaching debut just 69 hours after he walked off the field as a player in Jacksonville on Wednesday night.
Here’s Three Things from the match…
1. Collins takes charge
Early Thursday morning, just a few hours after the Rowdies arrived back in Tampa Bay following Wednesday night’s elimination from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, then-Rowdies defender Neill Collins was called into the office of Rowdies Chairman and CEO Bill Edwards, according to this Tampa Bay Times report.
By the time he left the office, Collins had agreed to take over as head coach of the club and was re-introduced to the team Thursday afternoon. He took charge of his first training session Friday, but could only train the team for about an hour because Saturday night’s match would be the Rowdies’ third in eight days, so Collins felt a need to keep the load light.
Collins was pleased with how quickly some of his points of emphasis — which included re-starting play very quickly in the opening minutes and led directly to a goal — sunk in, but said there’s still lot’s to improve on once he has more time to coach.
“Those lads tonight tried to do everything I asked. At times, it worked. At times, it didn’t, but the most important thing is that they were trying to implement specific things I asked,” Collins said. “The first goal was a short corner and a goal. Yes, the goalkeeper made a mistake, but that was one of the things we looked at it and they went out and did it. There were a couple of things they didn’t do, but we’ve only had one day (since I took over.) I was very careful not to overload them, but at the same time try to make an impact.”
Given his choice, Collins may not have preferred to make his coaching debut on short rest against the USL’s lone unbeaten team, particularly a defensively-stingy one that had only conceded three goals in eight matches all season prior to Saturday night. In the circumstances, scoring two goals and stopping the losing skid is certainly a positive result.
As for how he enjoyed watching his first match from the sidelines, Collins said it was a mixed bag.
“In some respects, I loved it. In some respects, I absolutely hated it. It’s funny because all my career, I’ve always been an avid football fan and a keen follower of coaches with an eye on being a coach. I always said to people it would be great (to coach) because then you’re in control of so much more than just yourself. I did not feel in control on the bench,” Collins said with a laugh. “It was my first game I learned a lot.”
2. Magalhães steps us
In Collins’ absence from the field, young defender Ivan Magalhães was given his first start of the season and drew huge praise for his performance from his coach.
Before Saturday night, Magalhães’ only appearance this season had been off the bench in a disastrous 5-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on April 14. While Magalhães certainly wasn’t solely to blame for that result, it’s easy to see how it could have put a major dent in his confidence, especially since he hadn’t been given a chance to redeem himself.
That chance finally came Saturday night, and while the Rowdies conceded twice, it was still a fine defensive performance especially since one of those was an own goal.
“I thought Ivan was excellent,” Collins said. “I thought he really did well. You’ve got to consider that this kid came in and played 60 minutes at the Red Bulls (a 5-0 Rowdies loss) which was a nightmare more than a few that day and got his head down. I’ve tried to help him out from the playing side of things in terms of talking to him before I was head coach and now he showed me tonight what he’s all about. I’m pleased for him.”
Statistically, Magalhães completed a team-high 93 passes and won an impressive seven of his nine duels, including going five-for-five in the air. He also racked up two tackles, four clearances and three interceptions.
3. Fighting back
It was plain for all to see Saturday night that were was a different level of fight in the Rowdies on Saturday night. The team dug deep and played with a lot more energy than may have been expected after how long of a week it had.
Lance Rozeboom’s goal in the 3rd minute was the earliest the Rowdies have scored all season, but when Tampa Bay fell behind by the 30th minute to trail 2-1, things really could have turned sideways for the team.
This season, the Rowdies had lost all five of their matches after falling behind. They had yet to pick up even a single point from a losing position.
That trend was bucked Saturday night as the Rowdies leveled the match with Joe Cole’s free kick in the 59th minute which skidded off the wet grass and right between the legs of Pittsburgh goalkeeper Daniel Lynd.
Tampa Bay had its chances to win the match — especially with Junior Flemmings’ point-blank header in the 89th minute that was saved by Lynd — but the draw still gives Collins’ Rowdies plenty to build on moving forward.
