HARTFORD, CT – The Tampa Bay Rowdies captured their first victory under new head coach Dominic Casciato on Wednesday night, nabbing a late goal from forward Woobens Pacius to secure a 1-0 result over hosts Hartford Athletic.
The win moves the Rowdies to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, rising two points above Hartford, who had won back-to-back league matches heading into Wednesday’s bout.
“Credit to Hartford, I think they’ve got good pace, they’ve got good power and they’ve been on a good run,” said Casciato. “So to come here and play the way we did, and limit big opportunities, I think is a credit to the guys and the spirit within the group. I asked them before the game to show their soul, and I think they did that. As the second half wore on and we became more and more resilient, I was really proud of the guys.”
Rowdies Goalkeeper Ethan Bandre was called on early in the 9th minute of play to keep Hartford off the scoresheet. After a long throw in from the right flank made its way into the box, Hartford’s Mamadou Dieng slipped behind Tampa Bay’s defensive line and guided a header on target that Bandre confidently swatted away.
Dieng aimed for a go-ahead goal again in the 32nd minute, but Bandre was up to the task as he deftly tipped the lofting header over the crossbar and out of danger. As a squad, the Rowdies registered 45 clearances on the night and won 77 percent of their tackles on the way to their first clean sheet of the season.
“They defended brilliantly tonight,” said Casciato. “I think you look at [Robert] Castellanos coming into the team, I think you look at Laurence Wyke playing a little bit out of position. Aaron Guillen and Thomas Vancaeyezeele, you know what you’re always going to get out of those two, and Blake Bodily as well. Lewis Hilton, Danny Crisostomo, these guys defended as if their lives depended on it. That’s the type of attitude we need heading into the second half of the season.”
Tampa Bay’s Ollie Bassett had a promising chance just before the halftime break when he intercepted a pass intended for Hartford Goalkeeper Antony Siaha near midfield. Bassett pushed the ball past Siaha and charged forward, but two of Hartford’s defenders managed to recover in time and prevent the Englishman from getting a shot on frame.
The tide began to turn in Tampa Bay’s favor as the second half wore on, with sustained possession and pressure in Hartford’s defensive end. The only piece of the puzzle missing was a finishing touch, which finally came in the 83rd minute.
Tampa Bay’s winning sequence began at midfield, with defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele threading a pass through the center of the field for substitute Nick Moon. With his first touch, Moon passed the ball off to an on-running Lewis Hilton, who carried the ball forward into the final third before slipping a pass to Pacius. Tampa Bay’s leading scorer made the most of the moment, creating a window of space with the first touch on his right foot and then sending a curling effort into the bottom left corner with the next touch on his left foot. Pacius now leads the Rowdies with six goals in the USL Championship season.
“I can’t promise you we’re going to win every game, but what I can promise you is that we’re going to have a team that fights until the very end,” said Casciato. “You have to do that on the road, you have to give everything you’ve got every second of the game. If you do that, then you’ve got a great chance to win, and we did that tonight. That’s all I’m every gonna ask from the guys. As time passes, the football is going to get better, the ideas are going to become more well developed and the chemistry on the field will get better. But that stuff takes time and it’s about developing our ideas together.”
Next up, the Rowdie will look to lock up the top spot in Group 6 of the USL Jägermeister Cup in Round 4 of the tournament at the Charleston Battery on Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
TBR – Pacius (Hilton), 83’
Caution Summary
TBR – Vancaeyezeele, Yellow Card, 24’
TBR – Fernandes, Yellow Card, 55’
TBR – Wyke, Yellow Card, 90+1’
TBR – Hilton, Yellow Card, 90+3’
Lineups
Rowdies: Bandre, Vancaeyezeele, Castellanos, Guillen, Wyke, Hilton, Crisostomo, Bodily, Fernandes (Skinner, 57’), Bassett (Moon, 58’), Arteaga (Pacius, 58’)
Rowdies Bench: Campisi, Moon, Skinner, Alvarez, Mustali, Pacius, Rodriguez
Hartford: Siaha, Presthus (Diz, 86’), Farrell, Scarlett, Anderson, Jimenez (Careaga, 62’), Hairston (Makangila, 62’), Samadia, Ngalina, Dieng, Beckford (Obalola, 62’)
Hartford Bench: DiCarlo, Diz, Makangila, Moreira, Moreira, Careaga, Obalola, Edwards
