Tampa Bay Rowdies v.s Ottawa Fury FC
Last week Tampa Bay played to a 1-1 draw . They are trying to close the gap between the 1st place New York Cosmos. Today the Rowdies will be without Georgi , who got send off last week and will serve a 1 match ban , week 6.
The Fury are low on confidence since they dropped points on the road to the New York Cosmos. Should the Fury get back to their winning ways , that would be a great step forward . It is going to be a hard task for the Fury to get the 3 puts against the Rowdies.
Listen To the Unused Substitutes , they preview their Week 6 opponent https://soundcloud.com/unusedsubspod/episode-34-we-wish-georgi-had-gotten-a-yellow
San Antonio Scorpions v.s Carolina Railhawks
By: Kevin Collins
This season.
The Railhawks currently sit in the middle of the Spring season standings with one win and three ties to their name. Their only loss is to the up-start Atlanta Silverbacks. They can still win the Spring and have at least given themselves a decent start in the combined standings when it will count for playoff spots.
The defending champs have stumbled out of the starting gate with three losses and only a single draw in their first four games. While the Spring championship is out of reach, there are still points to be earned…and San Antonio needs as many as it can muster. A draw seemed the likely outcome when the Scorpions visited the Armada last week; that was until Alhassane Keita scored the game-winner deep into second-half stoppage time, giving the expansion team all three points. There is still time to turn their season around, but it needs to start now.
Last season & Outlook.
San Antonio is 7-0-4 all-time against the Railhawks with a 2-0-1 record against them in the 2014 season. The lone loss to Carolina last year was away in Cary, North Carolina. The Railhawks definitely still have a realistic shot of claiming the Spring championship; that goal is gone for the Scorpions. The only goal for San Antonio in their remaining six games should be to try and recover as much ground as they can in the standings and play better in the Fall.
Players to watch.
San Antonio’s player to watch is Omar Cummings. His scissor-kick goal against Jacksonville won him the Play of the Week honors for week 5 in the NASL. He is tied with Carolina’s Nacho Novo for the most goals scored this season with three. He has been the most consistent scorer the Scorpions have and should be looked at to score more.
On the other side of the ball, Nacho Novo is the player to watch for Carolina. As their leading scorer, he is a threat in the attacking third, and with the Scorpions defensive woes, should get plenty of chances if there is no improvement in San Antonio’s defense.
Prediction.
This is desperation time for San Antonio. The players and fans are desperate for their first win of the season. After losing deep into stoppage time last week against the Armada, I will look for the Alamo boys to come out with purpose and determination. While this game will feature the league’s top goal scorers, I don’t think many balls will see the back of the net. These two teams have never played to a draw, and I don’t expect that trend to stop today. I may be over optimistic, but I’m gunning for a 1-0 home victory to put our boys back on track in the Spring.
The weather calls for rain all weekend long in the Alamo City, so it could be miserable conditions for both teams…something that will most definitely have an impact on the game.
New York Cosmos v.s FC Edmonton
The New York Cosmos are coming off a 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Fury. Tomorrow the New York Cosmos host FC Edmonton. FC Edmonton are on a five game unbeaten streak.The Eddies attack is very dangerous , and we will see how they will play against a solid Cosmos defense.
Cosmos defender Hunter Freeman , who has been out the whole spring season with an injury . Hunter has been rehabbing and this week played for Cosmos B to work to full fitness. Another exciting prospect is who will start upfront alongside Raul . Lucky has started the past 2 matches. Every time Lucky got the start he had a lot of chances and capitalized last week when he scored his first goal with the Cosmos. It is going to be interesting to see who gets the start Lucky , or Mads. Giovani Savarese may play the hottest player ( Lucky). Would be cool if Mads gets a chance to prove himself . It is going to be a faced pace match , going to be back and forth .
Listen to First Team Podcast’s Preview of the New York Cosmos match against FC Edmonton : https://audioboom.com/boos/3165192-we-want-belmont
Minnesota United FC v.s Atlanta Silverbacks
Atlanta hits the road to take on United. United has not been having a great spring season so far , but they could turn the corner tonight. United played a tough match against Edmonton . For United a key player to watch is Miguel Ibarra who scored last week , and is always a threat to score. For the Silverbacks a player to watch is Hans , he is a dangerous striker.
The Silverbacks are undefeated so far this spring season . The Silverbacks defense is solid so it is going to be difficult for United to score.
Jacksonville Armada v.s Indy Eleven
Both teams currently have 6 points in the Spring Season table. Jacksonville beat the Scorpions last week by the score of 2-1. Indy Eleven go into week 6 with an undefeated streak , that could go to double digits. Another storyline for the Eleven is who is going to get the nod in net. Nicht former Eleven goalkeeper was sold to MLS . Going to be interesting to see who gets the start and if they could step up and be the number 1 keeper.
Jaime Castrillon will miss tonights match because of right foot injury. The Armada have a great attack , which may be too much for the Eleven defense to handle. The Armada attack is good but when they put the ball in the back of the net they don’t have a solid defense . Their defense falls a part towards the end f the match . For the Armada to get the 3 points their defense needs to remain solid for the full 90 minutes. The Eleven attack with Charlie Rugg and Wojciech Wojcik is powerful and something that the Armada should look out for.
