ST. PETERBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rowdies will play Birmingham Legion FC in the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this Wednesday.
“I think it’s great competition,” said Rowdies forward Cal Jennings. “We’ve got a tough opponent coming up in Birmingham. There’s a lot on the line. I would say there’s a great opportunity for us to advance through the tournament this year and make history… but first and foremost, we’ve gotta focus on Wednesday and get one over a team that got the better of us last time.”
Birmingham earned a spot in the Round of 32 by knocking off USL League One’s Chattanooga Redwolves SC 4-2. The Rowdies earned placement straight into the Round of 32 based on their finish as one of the top teams in last year’s USL Championship regular season standings.
“Every game is important, to be honest with you,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “I think this is an opportunity for our team to continue to grow, progress, hopefully get to a final and win a trophy. If we can make it through this one, depending on how the Memphis and Dallas match goes, we could potentially get an MLS team, which would be great for us. So Wednesday’s game is very important for us.”
The winner of Wednesday’s match will earn a spot in the Round of 16 against the winner between Memphis 901 FC and MLS’ FC Dallas. Should the Rowdies advance, they would host in the Round of 16 no matter who the opponent is.
“Knockout games are exciting,” Jennings added. “There is a little more on the line. You know that every moment matters. It’s not one that if you lose this game go get the next one. You lose, you’re out. There is definitely some pressure there. You can ask anybody in any league, we like to play with pressure.”
