The Tampa Bay Rowdies fell for just the second time on the road this year on Saturday evening, losing 3-1 to Hartford Athletic at Trinity Health Stadium.
Tampa Bay’s Max Schnieder was only inches away from nabbing early lead for the visitors when he redirected a free kick sent into the box by teammate Lewis Hilton toward the far post. Schenider’s header, though, hit the post before being cleared away by a defender.
Hartford broke the deadlock just four minutes later. Following a turnover in Tampa Bay’s defensive end, Hartford’s Sadat Anaku slipped into the penalty area from the right edge and centered a pass for Michael Adedokun to convert into the back of the net for the opening tally of the night.
“Conceding early on a sloppy goal obviously puts us on the back foot and gives us a bit of an uphill battle against a team that are so dangerous on the counterattack,” said Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato.
The hosts would not register another shot on target until three minutes into the second half, but they made the most of the opportunity and doubled their advantage. Hartford capitalized on a counterattack, with Michee Ngalina carrying the ball up the right flank before playing a ball behind the Rowdies last defender for Anaku. Hartford’s attacker collected the ball and drove forward into the box before depositing a strike past Rowdies Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
“Hartford are obviously a big, strong athletic team. When you come to places like this, you can’t give goals away,” said Casciato. “We did that with the first one, which was disappointing. I think our response after that was excellent. The way we started the second half, we had control and then we gave the second goal away at a really bad time. If we manage those moments a little bit better, then we come away with at least a point.”
Rowdies Midifelder Pedro Dolabella took aim at Hartford’s goal in the 75th minute with a low strike from the top of the box that was on the mark, but goalkeeper Antony Siaha was up to the task with a diving save.
Laurence Wyke finally got the Rowdies on the scoresheet in the 79th minute. With yards of space in front of him, Wyke received a pass from teammate Russell Cicerone and dribbled forward before rifling an outstanding long-range rifle into the top right corner to breathe some life into the Rowdies comeback effort.
However, Tampa Bay’s rally suffered a blow as Hartford doubled the lead once again near the 90th minute. When Hartford’s Ngalina slipped behind the Rowdies defensive line to earn a one-on-one against Waite, the Rowdies goalkeeper was whistled for a foul attempting to thwart the attacker as he looked to push past him in the box. Ngalina then stepped to the penalty spot and converted with a strike into the bottom left corner to put the match out of Tampa Bay’s reach.
Hartford’s Junior Moreira earned a red card after picking up a second yellow card during the ensuing celebration after the penalty, but Tampa Bay’s one-man advantage did not last long. Midfielder Louis Perez was sent off as well just two minutes later after earning his second yellow card of the night.
Next up, the Rowdies return to Al Lang Stadium to host Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary
HFD – Adedokun (Anaku), 26’
HFD – Anaku (Ngalina), 48’
TBR – Wyke (Cicerone), 79’
HFD – Ngalina (Penalty), 87’
Caution Summary
HFD – Ngalina (Yellow Card), 41’
TBR – Hilton (Yellow Card), 43’
HFD – Adedokun (Yellow Card), 45’
HFD – Diz Pe (Yellow Card), 50’
HFD – Moreira (Yellow Card), 55’
HFD – Siaha (Yellow Card), 68’
TBR – Perez (Yellow Card), 81’
TBR – Waite (Yellow Card), 86’
HFD – Moreira (Second Yellow Card/Red Card), 88’
TBR – Perez (Second Yellow Card/Red Card), 90’
Stats Summary: TBR / HFD
Shots: 21 / 12
Shots on Goal: 9 / 8
Saves: 5 / 8
Corner Kicks: 5 / 1
Fouls Conceded: 17 / 13
Offside: 1 / 8
Possession: 61.1 / 38.9
Lineups
TBR: Waite, Wyke, Schneider (Conway, 89’), Dossantos, Ostrem, Acoff, Dolabella (Micaletto, 83’), Hilton (Perez, 46’), Cicerone, Henderlong (Locadia, 54’), Myers
TBR Bench: Pack, Nigro, Rodriguez, Micaletto, Perez, Conway, Locadia
HFD: Siaha, Mines (Anderson, 61’), Fischer, Scarlett (Diz Pe, 46’), Real, Adedokun (Coffey, 61’), Moreira, Hadjipaschalis (Makangila, 74’), Samadia, Anaku (Williams, 61’), Ngalina
HFD Bench: Carvalho, Diz, Pearman, Coffey, Makangila, Anderson, Taofeek, Williams, Gordon
