
TAMPA, Fla. (June 27, 2017) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies U23s dropped their second straight PDL match Tuesday as they lost 3-1 to FC Miami City.
In yet another match against a top quality Southeast division opponent, the Rowdies failed to pick up any points in front of the home crowd at the Waters Complex in Tampa.
From the starting kickoff, it was clear that the Rowdies had not faced a team of this level of speed and skill through their first seven PDL matches.
It took just a five minutes for Miami to get on the board as Bryan Perea finessed a beautiful free kick into the right side of the net just passed the outstretched arms of Sean Caufield.
Following the opening score, Miami continued to dominate possession and apply heavy pressure on the Rowdies backline.
Peppering the defense with a bevy of runs, through balls, and shots, it was difficult for Tampa Bay to get proper footing early on in the game. It truly took the Rowdies the majority of the first half to just move play out from their own box back towards midfield.
Just as the Rowdies began to even play out, however, Miami struck again in the 36th minute as midfielder Rassambek Akhmatov made an incredible run through the defense and finished skillfully with a chip over the diving Caufield.
After nearly surrendering yet another goal due to complications with clearing the ball out of their own end, the Rowdies held onto the 2-0 deficit heading into the halftime break.
Coming out of the break, the Rowdies looked like a completely revamped and re-energized squad. A combination of a quadruple substitution and fifteen extra minutes of game planning contributed to the Rowdies sudden resurgence.
Noah Franke led the charge as he made multiple dangerous runs into the Miami half before finally finding success in feeding Kevin Varela for a goal in the 48th minute.
Beyond just getting Tampa Bay back within striking distance of Miami, the goal marked the first score allowed by the visiting team in over 500 minutes of playing time.
With the momentum beginning to swing in their direction, the Rowdies began to push forward with everything they had in an attempt to knot the game up.
The Rowdies found themselves with a number of close-range free kicks and corners early in the second half but the Miami backline held firm and didn’t permit any Tampa Bay chances to develop into scores.
The key moment of the game came in the 81st minute when Tosan Popo made a strong run into the Miami box. The forward then fed midfielder Daniel Ribas who struck what looked to be the equalizing goal but was kept out of net by what seemed to be a handball by a Miami back. No whistle was blown nor card shown and the Rowdies lost their best chance and at least coming out of the match with a point.
The no-call clearly shot the Tampa Bay momentum as they let up a third goal just a few minutes later after being unable to move the ball downfield on a goal kick.
From there, Miami hardly let the Rowdies possess for more than a few touches and ran down the remaining time in securing a 3-1 road victory.
After the game, Coach Fulk acknowledged the skill shown by Miami but remained confident in his men reaffirming that “they are young and continue to learn and grow more and more each match.”
The win, for at least the next four days, puts FC Miami City atop the division table with a 9-1-0 record. They will get a solid week’s rest before traveling to Bradenton to take on IMG on July 5th.
For the Rowdies U23’s, they now drop to 3-5-0 on the season. Tampa Bay will be back in action this weekend at Oxbridge Academy to take on Palm Beach Suns FC on Saturday.
Scoring Summary
Miami: Bryan Perea – 6th minute
Miami: Rassambek Akhmatov – 36th minute
Rowdies: Kevin Varela – 48th minute (assisted by Noah Franke)
Miami: Mohamed Kourouma – 85th minute
Caution Summary
Rowdies: Tosan Popo – 53rd minute
Miami: Fares Mouri – 69th minute
Rowdies: Pico Espinal – 71st minute
Rowdies: Noah Franke – 82nd minute
Miami: Yerandy Suarez – 83rd minute
Starting Lineups
Rowdies U23 XI (4-5-1): GK Sean Caufield; D Caleb George (Jordan Day 46′), Gustavo Fernandes, Gabriel Pfeffer, Ivan Castro; M Melvin Boateng (Pico Espinal 46′), Morgan Hackworth, Gabriel Fernandes (Noah Franke 46′), Mac Curran (Tosan Popo 46′), Gonzalo Rodriguez (Daniel Ribas 72′); F Kevin Varela
FC Miami City XI (4-4-2): GK Eric Edge; D Jon Colino (Kevin Warton 65′), Fares Mouri (Jonathan Padjen 84′), Kevin Coiffic, Christopher Davis (Naim Hamdi 59′); M Zackariae Merzouk, Rassambek Akhmatov, Abderraouf Abdallah (Carlos Chacon 86′), Yerandy Suarez; F Mohamed Kourouma, Bryan Perea (Adam Chahti 74′)