ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (August 24, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies got back to winning ways Saturday night with a dominant 5-0 win over Memphis 901 FC, ending a summer slump in impressive fashion to move back to second place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference.
The Rowdies (14-4-7, 49 points) came into Saturday night’s match with three losses in their last four matches, but put all that in the past with a dominant performance. Kwadwo Poku scored his first and second goals of the season, and Andrew Tinari, Leo Fernandes and Malik Johnson all got on the scoresheet as well in a great show.
“The important thing is always, whether things are good or things are bad, to try and stay as level-headed as possible,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “The players reverted to type tonight and I’m pleased for them. … Tonight we got back to the high standards they’ve set and now there’s no reason why we can’t stay there.”
The Rowdies were on the front foot from the very start of the match against an overmatched Memphis (4-13-8, 19 points) side. Poku had the game’s first attempt on a bicycle kick in the 3rd minute. That effort was saved, but it was just a foreshadowing of the night that Poku would have.
The Ghanian midfielder opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a thundering volley from outside the box on a failed Memphis clearance.
The Rowdies kept the pressure up but wouldn’t score again until first half stoppage time when Tinari took a feed from Johnson and scored with his first touch from just outside the penalty spot to send the Rowdies into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
A heavy storm during halftime didn’t slow the Rowdies down after the break, with Poku making it 3-0 in the 62nd minute with another goal from outside the box on Johnson’s second assist of the night.
“We needed this (this result) after a tough away game,” Poku said. “We needed it to stay on top and keep fighting until the end. I think from the coaching staff to the guys, we knew what this game was about and everybody was really ready for it and we got the job done.”
Tampa Bay would add on two more goals late, with Fernandes the recipient of a long diagonal ball from forward Sebastian Guenzatti before taking it to the edge of the box and scoring in the 81st minute to make it 4-0.
Johnson finished the scoring in the 86th minute with a silky cut inside and left-footed finish through traffic to make it 5-0.
Rowdies goalkeeper John McCarthy returned to action after missing four games and kept his 10th clean sheet of the year without making a save. Memphis recorded just one shot on the night but it was off target.
The Rowdies will take on Nashville SC, currently third in the East, in a heavyweight showdown next Saturday night at Al Lang. Tickets are available here.
Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Kwadwo Poku – 11th minute
Tampa Bay: Andrew Tinari – 45+4 minute (assisted by Malik Johnson)
Tampa Bay: Kwadwo Poku – 62nd minute (assisted by Malik Johnson)
Tampa Bay: Leo Fernandes – 81st minute (assisted by Sebastian Guenzatti)
Tampa Bay: Malik Johnson – 87th minute (assisted by Mohamed Kone)
Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Leo Fernandes – 28th minute
Memphis: Pierre Da Silva – 36th minute
Memphis: Wes Charpie – 47th minute
Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK John McCarthy; D Tarek Morad, Pape Diakite, Caleb Richards; M Malik Johnson, Dom Oduro (Mohamed Kone 84′), Andrew Tinari (Jaime Siaj 76′), Kwadwo Poku, Leo Fernandes; F Sebastian Guenzatti (c), Juan Tejada (Lucky Mkosana 67′)
Memphis XI (4-3-3): GK Jeff Caldwell; D Liam Doyle, Marc Burch (c), Abdi Mohamed, Wes Charpie; M Dan Metzger, Cam Lindley (Ewan Grandison 67′), Adam Najem; F Marcus Epps, Brandon Allen (Jochen Graf 70′), Pierre Da Silva (Lagos Kunga 56′)
