Photo by NASL/Tampa Bay Rowdies
By AARON CRANFORD
The New York Cosmos will make their home debut on Saturday, welcoming a fiery Tampa Bay Rowdies squad to the Big Apple in Week Three’s headline match.
The weekend’s most intriguing affair offers fans a look at joint-leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies and New York Comsos, as the Cosmos host their first home match of the 2015 season. Both sides sit atop the table with the Carolina RailHawks, with each claiming four points in their first two games. However, the Rowdies have been slightly more impressive to date, dominating defending champion San Antonio Scorpions and holding Minnesota United FC scoreless.
Down south, Carolina hosts the Atlanta Silverbacks in a battle for regional bragging rights. The RailHawks took the 2014 series last year, winning two out of three matchups, but the Silverbacks did produce a 2-0 result at WakeMed Soccer Park, which is something head coach Gary Smith will want to repeat.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s NASL action:
OTTAWA FURY FC vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
Minnesota United FC’s dynamic partnership of Miguel Ibarra and Christian Ramirez were not so fruitful in their first match, but they hope to turn it on against their neighbors up north, Ottawa Fury FC.
Losing all three matches to Minnesota United last year, Fury FC hope to grab some points this time around, and it’ll see the return of midfielder Julian de Guzman, who sat out of last weekend’s draw against Atlanta due to a red card in Week One. He’ll need to help shore up the Fury FC defense that has conceded four goals this year because it’s only a matter of time before the Minnesota United offense starts clicking and goals start flying in.
NEW YORK COSMOS vs. TAMPA BAY ROWDIES (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
With a goal, the Raul era kicked off last week for the Cosmos, but they have a tougher test this time around, as the Tampa Bay Rowdies come to New York in the hopes of staying undefeated.
Rowdies defender Stefan Antonijevic, who was honored as SBI NASL Player of the Week for his Week One performance, pulled out another good performance when he and his squad held the dynamic Minnesota United offense scoreless in Week Two. The Cosmos have only scored twice on the year, but Raul got on the scoresheet last week and the confidence could carry over into Week Three.
CAROLINA RAILHAWKS vs. ATLANTA SILVERBACKS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.)
RailHawks forward Nacho Novo leads the league with two goals in 2015, and with an Atlanta Silverbacks side that hasn’t gelled coming to town, Novo could add another to his tally.
The Silverbacks sit on two points after two home matches, with Ottawa Fury FC drawing them last weekend. Atlanta forward Shaka Bangura has looked lively going forward for the Georgia side, scoring the first of the season. But it’s the problems on the other side of the ball that head coach Gary Smith will want to see fixed, especially with Novo and Tiyi Shipalane causing havoc for opposing teams to start the season.
SAN ANTONIO SCORPIONS vs. INDY ELEVEN (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.)
The defending champions had Week Two off, and the Scorpions probably needed the break after being dominated by the Rowdies in their opener at home.
With a week off to mull over their disappointing start to the season, San Antonio will host Indy Eleven, who have produced two draws that are more impressive than they first appear. Indy claimed an important road draw at the death in Atlanta and did their best at holding the Cosmos at bay in their first home match. The Scorpions are the only NASL side without points in the Spring Season, and they’ll want to change that right away.
FC EDMONTON vs. FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
In Week Three’s final pairing, FC Edmonton play at home for the second straight week, as they host reigning SBI NASL Team of the Week, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
Led by Victor “PC” Giro, who was honored as SBI NASL Player of the Week, the Stikers showed their newest Florida rival, Jacksonville Armada, who’s boss. However, Edmonton also looked solid in attack against the RailHawks on Sunday, with Sainey Nyassi flying by defenders on the right all game, but they’ll have to bunker down to stop the in-form Florida side.