ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 20, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies widened their lead at the top of the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference standings wide an emphatic 4-1 win over Saint Louis FC at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.
Sebastian Guenzatti scored twice in three minutes and Leo Fernandes and Caleb Richards scored in the second half as the Rowdies cruised to their 12th win of the season. The Rowdies (12-1-7, 43 points) have now surpassed their points total from 2018 (41) with 14 matches left to play.
Tampa Bay now leads second-place New York Red Bulls II by five points at the top of the table after the Red Bulls were held to a draw in Memphis on Saturday night. The Rowdies visit the Red Bulls this coming Friday in a heavyweight showdown.
“It was a joy to watch the players this week, the way they played technically and also their attitude,” Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins said. “The rain delay is never easy and you’re never quite sure how to handle that. Thankfully it was only an hour and the grounds staff did an unbelievable job.”
Kickoff was delayed a little more than an hour due to inclement weather in St. Pete in the hours before warmups were scheduled to begin.
Once the match did start, it took a little time to open up but Guenzatti headed home a looping Fernandes cross in the 33rd minute to bring the match to life with his 11th goal of the season.
Guenzatti didn’t have to wait long for his 12th goal of the year, tucking home a Lucky Mkosana assist less than three minutes later to extend Tampa Bay’s lead to 2-0. Guenzatti is now second in the Championship’s Golden Boot race, behind only Phoenix Rising FC’s Solomon Asante, who has 14 goals.
The Rowdies didn’t give Saint Louis (5-6-6, 21 points) much of anything in the second half until after Fernandes scored his third goal of the year in the 79th minute on an assist from Shawn Barry.
Caleb Richards rounded out the scoreline on an assist from Guenzatti in stoppage time after Saint Louis’ Kyle Greig scored on a corner in the 87th minute.
“(My last goal) has to be 18th months ago when I was playing in England,” Richards, on loan with the Rowdies from Norwich City FC, said. “But I was playing center midfield then, not as a defender. It was a really good win. We’re disappointed we conceded at the end but you’ve got to be happy with four goals at home against a good side.”
Tampa Bay will visit New York and Charleston in the next two weekends before returning home to host Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday, August 10 at Al Lang Stadium. Tickets for that match are available here.
Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Sebastian Guenzatti – 33rd minute (assisted by Leo Fernandes)
Tampa Bay: Sebastian Guenzatti – 36th minute (assisted by Lucky Mkosana)
Tampa Bay: Leo Fernandes – 79th minute (assisted by Shawn Barry)
Saint Louis: Kyle Greig – 87th minute (assisted by Lewis Hilton)
Tampa Bay: Caleb Richards – 90+1 minute (assisted by Sebastia Guenzatti)
Caution Summary
Saint Louis: Caleb Calvert – 20th minute
Tampa Bay: Dom Oduro – 69th minute
Saint Louis: Lewis Hilton – 71st minute
Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (3-5-2): GK John McCarthy; D Tarek Morad, Pape Diakite, Caleb Richards; M Malik Johnson (Shawn Barry 70′), Kwadwo Poku, Yann Ekra, Dom Oduro, Leo Fernandes (Mohamed Kone 88′); F Sebastian Guenzatti (c), Lucky Mkosana (Jaime Siaj 81′)
Saint Louis XI: GK Tomas Gomez; D Matt Bahner, Phanuel Kavita, Sam Fink (c), Sean Reynolds (Bradley Kamdem Fewo 81′); M Russell Cicerone (Masta Kacher 62′), Oscar Umar (Collin Fernandez 84′), Lewis Hilton, Kadeem Dacres; F Caleb Calvert, Kyle Greig
