Rowdies’ second straight defeat could have additional cost

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — The Rowdies lost a second straight game and goalkeeper CJ Cochran in falling 1-0 to Detroit City on Saturday night.

The defeat was also the fourth straight on the road for the Rowdies (16-7-6), who missed another chance to improve their playoff position in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference. They stayed in third, falling nine points behind first-place Louisville City and four behind second-place Memphis.

“I feel that was the least-deserved result we’ve had out of the four (recent road losses),” Rowdies coach Neill Collins said. “This is a really tough field. There were far, far more positives than negatives, but ultimately we didn’t make any of our possession count and we gave up a really poor goal.”

Detroit needed just one shot on target to get its goal. In the 82nd minute, Maximiliano Rodriguez took advantage of Tampa Bay’s inability to control the ball at midfield and slipped a pass into the box for Antoine Hoppenot to bury.

Cochran was injured on the scoring sequence while sliding in to attempt a save. He was taken off the field on a stretcher. Phill Breno was brought in to finish the game.

There was no word on Cochran’s condition.

The Rowdies held a significant edge in possession (62% to 38%), yet they never managed to threaten Detroit City goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher. Forward Steevan Dos Santos came the closest on a shot in the center of the box that sailed just over the crossbar.

The match lacked much of a rhythm, with play starting and stopping due to fouls. In total, 38 fouls were called, 22 against Tampa Bay and 16 against Detroit City.

“I don’t think it helped us at all because we want to play at a high tempo, but there’s no excuses,” Collins said. “Detroit defended resolutely. They’ve got a good game plan. They were waiting on a mistake, and we made it, unfortunately. But our boys showed me a lot that gives me confidence for the last five games (of the regular season).”