ST. PETERSBURG — It wasn't a vintage performance but the Tampa Bay Rowdies got the job done, advancing to the Eastern Conference Final with a 1-0 win against the Birmingham Legion on Saturday night.

The Legion clearly used the week off to study the Rowdies game plan and beat the Rowdies in several areas where Tampa Bay usually excels. Most notably Birmingham won the aerial duels, claiming 60 percent of them. This forced the Rowdies to be better on the ground, closing the gap to just half a percentage point in total duels. That would be a key part of how they won the match, overcoming deficiencies elsewhere.

Ultimately it was patience that saw the Rowdies finally breakthrough and that was shown statistically in the way they took shots. Tampa Bay continued one trend, taking most of its shots in the box. Of 10 total shots, seven of those came from inside the box. By comparison, Birmingham took half of its shots from outside the box.

That decision to wait for shots inside the box was boosted by something uncharacteristic, the Rowdies won the possession battle. In modern soccer that's not so much a big point and they usually lose the possession battle. But in this case, winning possession was important. Patience was the key so that meant possession mattered as it was what was needed to break down the opposition.

The match as a whole was a story of strong defense, the two sides barely split in there, what was notable was the number of clearances in the match. There were 22 clearances in total, with the Rowdies making the bulk of them, clearing the ball 12 times.

It was a very even match and things will be tougher next week against perennial Eastern Conference finalist, Louisville City FC at Al Lang Stadium.

Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies

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