Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo made his triumphant return to the Tampa Bay Rowdies last week, giving the team depth in the goalie position, but is it what the team really needs right now?
Restrepo spent the 2013-2014 season with the Rowdies and proved his success as the starting goalkeeper. Led by Restrepo, the Rowdies defeated Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders in the Open Cup competition. He was also named the "NASL Player of the Week" three times and to the "NASL Team of the Week" seven times in 2013, so there’s no doubt he’s good.
“Diego is a goalkeeper I know personally from playing with him in 2013 and from serving as an assistant coach in 2014,” said Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell. “He’s a great goalkeeper and he’s played well this season, particularly in the U.S. Open Cup. We’ve brought him here because he makes our squad better.”
But the Rowdies have already been leaning on veteran Matt Pickens, who has been with the club since Restrepo’s departure and has played every minute of every match this season. Of the goalkeepers who have played over 2,000 minutes this season, Pickens has the second lowest goals against average in the league.
What the Rowdies need to do is score.
Midfielder Joe Cole said in an interview after the August 29 win that the team is anxious in front of the goal, which is the reason for the scoring problems. Since Cole’s statement, the team has scored only one goal in the last two games. Performance anxiety — it happens to the best of us.
The Rowdies have scored only 25 goals this season and are in eighth place. Compare that to the league-leading New York Cosmos, who have scored 45 goals this year. Oh yeah, and the Cosmos have only conceded four fewer goals than the Rowdies.
The clock is ticking on the Rowdies’ playoff chances, but barring any injuries the Venezuelan-born Restrepo doesn’t seem to be the missing piece of the puzzle that will push the Rowdies into the post-season.
Restrepo is more than capable as a starting goalkeeper and seems to be slated to take over the position in the event of Pickens’s departure, which seems more plausible now with a younger and just-as-talented option at hand.
The Rowdies face Carolina at home this coming Saturday. Good news is Carolina has given up the most goals of any team this season – and yet, they’re still above us in the standings. See how important goal-scoring can be?
Expect the Rowdies to get their stuff together on Saturday. Hopefully they just have some pent-up scoring frustration. You know how it can be; if you don’t score for a while, all the goals come quickly and all at once.
This article appears in Sep 8-15, 2016.