ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 29, 2018) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies will likely have very mixed emotions after Saturday night’s 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls.
After a bad start, the Rowdies roared to life and took a well-deserved lead and they were flying high before a double dismissal deep into first half stoppage time changed the course of the night for good.
Here’s Three Things from the match…
1. The boiling point
Tampa Bay was under heavy pressure from the New York Red Bulls as the half wore down, but it looked like the Rowdies would escape the first half with their 2-1 lead and have a chance to regroup during halftime and come back out and shut things down in the second half.
No such luck, though, as Junior Flemmings was whistled for a foul right in front of the fourth official in the ninth minute of stoppage time and was shown a straight red card. Neill Collins protested the decision, which he would was influenced by New York’s bench suggesting it was an elbow to the head, and Collins was dismissed as well, leaving the Rowdies without both Flemmings and their head coach for the second half.
In his postgame press conference, Collins asked for a little more consistency from referee crews across the league. We’ll let him speak for himself, but the gist is that the Rowdies have had a player sent off before halftime in three of his eight home matches as coach so far for soft red cards.
2. The Bonomo and Flemmings Show
Stefano Bonomo and Junior Flemmings, both former Red Bulls II players, put on a show against their former club Saturday night, continuing their excellent form.
Both players scored against Indy Eleven a week earlier and they picked up where they left off Saturday night. Flemmings drew a penalty in the seventh minute with an incisive cut toward goal. Bonomo converted the penalty with a perfectly-placed kick into the side netting that New York goalkeeper Evan Louro didn’t have a chance at saving even though he dove the correct way.
Only 14 seconds after play was restarted, Flemmings took advantage of a lazy pass in midfield, picking up possession and racing toward goal again. Bonomo darted to the penalty spot and slotted Flemmings’ pass through Louro’s legs for his second goal in 50 seconds.
The chemistry that Bonomo and Flemmings have from their three years playing together in New York is paying major dividends for the Rowdies as their attack looks extremely potent.
3. Suspensions all around
Tampa Bay was without leading goalscorer Georgi Hristov as he served a one-game suspension Saturday night for yellow card accumulation. Hristov is eligible to return next week when the Rowdies visit Ottawa Fury FC, but the Rowdies figure to be without Junior Flemmings and Neill Collins in Ottawa following their dismissals Saturday night.
Additionally, Joe Cole is one yellow card away from picking up an accumulation suspension of his own.
