ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 16, 2016) — If such a thing exists in soccer, Tampa Bay Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens had a walkoff penalty save as the Rowdies won a 1-0 thriller over FC Edmonton on a dramatic Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium.
The Rowdies led 1-0 after Tommy Heinemann’s 73rd minute goal and were seconds away from finishing the win when FC Edmonton was awarded a penalty kick deep in second half stoppage time. Pickens dove to his right to save Tomi Ameobi’s effort and win the match for the Rowdies.
“That was great entertainment for the fans,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “Matt is a bit of a penalty specialist. The guys practice a lot of penalties on him and he saves more than he concedes. He’s just got that knack of reading players. I fancied Matt’s chances of saving that tonight. I’d be lying if I was stood on the sideline as Mr. Cool, for a minute I did think, ‘Yikes.’ He saves it and that’s a little bit of luck that we didn’t get in the previous two games.”
Pickens saved the penalty cleanly and didn’t allow a rebound. As he stood up with the ball in hand, the referee blew the final whistle, igniting a passionate celebration from the Rowdies.
“I just try to be calm (when facing penalties),” Pickens said. “There are some little triggers that I try and read in people as they approach the ball. I kind of saw a trigger that told me where (Ameobi) was going to go. … I’m just glad I held onto it and didn’t give up a rebound or anything stupid like that where they pump it back in and score. I grabbed it, stood up and the whistle blew. I was like, ‘Cool, game over.’ It was great.”
The entire match was marred by gusty winds blowing the ball all over the field, playing into FC Edmonton’s direct style of play. Tampa Bay labored through a difficult first half, creating a few chances, but nothing truly spectacular until Georgi Hristov’s effort was saved by Edmonton goalkeeper Matt VanOekel at the near post in first half stoppage time.
As the second half progressed, Tampa Bay ratcheted up its intensity in search of a go-ahead goal. When the clock creeped past the 70-minute mark, Campbell nearly threw forward Danny Mwanga into the mix to shake up the attack.
As it turned out, the Rowdies wouldn’t have to wait much longer for their first lead of 2016.
Heinemann’s goal, his first of the season, was the result of a beautiful piece of play that ended with an inch-perfect cross from Eric Avila on the right. Heinemann rose to meet the cross and thumped it past VanOekel to put the Rowdies ahead with less than 20 minutes to play.
“It was an instance where we were continuing to pressure their goal and put chances together,” Heinemann said. “The ball got swung out wide to Eric Avila and I tried to lose my man in the box. He put in a perfect ball. I can’t say much more than that. It was just a perfect ball and I got my noggin on it.”
The Rowdies were on the verge of closing the match out and picking up the three points when center back Neill Collins was whistled for a handball near the edge of the box, setting the stage for the dramatic finale.
Up next, the Rowdies remain home to host the red hot Carolina RailHawks at Al Lang Stadium next Saturday, April 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available by calling (727) 222-2000 or by clicking here.
Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay – Tommy Heinemann (assisted by Eric Avila) – 73rd minute
Caution Summary
Edmonton – Eddie Edward – 37th minute
Tampa Bay – Juan Guerra – 39th minute
Edmonton – Sainey Nyassi – 90th minute
Tampa Bay – Eric Avila – 90th minute
Tampa Bay – Georgi Hristov – 90+ minute
Starting Lineups
Tampa Bay XI (4-2-3-1): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Ben Sweat; M Juan Guerra, Michael Nanchoff (Justin Chavez 75′); M Eric Avila, Georgi Hristov; Kalif Alhassan (Darwin Espinal 70′); F Tommy Heinemann (Danny Mwanga 85′)
Edmonton XI (4-4-2): GK Matt VanOekel; D Eddie Edward, Pape Diakite, Albert Watson (c), Johann Smith; M Shamit Shome (Pablo Cruz 80′), Cristian Raudales, Nik Ledgerwood, Dustin Corea (Sainey Nyassi 69′); F Jake Keegan, Daryl Fordyce (Tomi Ameobi 69′)
