ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (August 21, 2024) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies fell 3-2 to Detroit City FC at Al Lang Stadium on Wednesday night. Tampa Bay had no shortage of scoring chances in the match, as they fired off 26 shots against Detroit. In the end, though, the visitors were more clinical with their chances, converting on all three of their shots on target.
“When you have days like that, when you don’t score, the opposition start to get a feel that it’s maybe going to be their day,” said Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “I think if we’d scored the first goal, it’s a totally different game. We’re just going through that wee period right now where it’s super frustrating.”
Detroit opened the scoring only three minutes into the match, as Elvis Devon Amoo-Mesah headed home a corner kick sent in by Brett Levis.
Shortly after Detroit’s opening strike, the Rowdies lost captain Aaron Guillen due to injury. However, substitute Zane Bubb stepped in off the bench and made a vital impact with an equalizing goal in the 36th minute. Taking advantage of Tampa Bay’s own corner kick opportunity, midfielder Nate Worth whipped in a delivery that Bubb headed across the line for his first professional goal.
“Throughout college, I’ve always been pretty good in the air. They were a bit grabby in the box, the ref wasn’t really calling it. So, we told Nate [Worth] to whip it in, and me and Freddy [Kleeman] worked together to run front post. If one of us missed it, the other one was right there. It passed him and I jumped to the left and shot got in the back of the net.”
The Rowdies continued to produce an ample amount of chances as they dominated possession in the second half. However, it was the visitors who jumped ahead again in the 59th minute. Rushing off his line to stymie a chance in the box, Rowdies keeper Jordan Farr cleared the ball with a sliding clearance that fell favorably for forward Ben Morris to bury into the back of the net.
Morris doubled Detroit’s advantage in the 74th minute. Rhys Williams created a window of space on the right wing before crossing the ball for an unmarked Morris to volley across the line.
“We need to all individually really lift each other up, take responsibility and then speak up in these moments,” said Farr. “We’re realistic. It’s no excuse, but we have plenty of games left. For us, we expect the highest standard. Our standard is way beyond what we saw tonight.”
Rowdies forward Manuel Arteaga pulled one back for the Rowdies in the third minute of second half added time. Driving forward, substitute Damian Rivera broke through Detroit’s back line and threaded a pass into space for Arteaga to collect and blast past keeper Carlos Saldana.
Unfortunately, Arteaga’s 13th goal of the regular season wasn’t enough for the Rowdies to pull off a comeback.
Up next, the Rowdies are back at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday, August 24 for a meeting with in-state rival Miami FC at 7:30 p.m. ET.
“There’s no excuses,” said Farr. “Saturday’s in three days so we need to really remind ourselves that Al Lang is a fortress. We’re a fantastic team, individually and collectively and we need to pick up, in these key moments, be decisive defensively and be on the front foot attacking-wise.”
Scoring Summary
DET – Mensah (Levis), 3’
TBR – Bubb (Worth), 36’
DET – Morris, 59’
DET – Morris, 74’
TBR – Arteaga (Rivera), 90+
Caution Summary
DET – Rutz, Yellow Card, 23’
TBR – Bubb, Yellow Card, 27’
DET – Williams, Yellow Card, 29’
DET – Amoo-Mensah, Yellow Card, 42’
DET – Carroll, Yellow Card, 44’
TBR – Arteaga, Yellow Card, 45+6’
DET – Bryant, Yellow Card, 81’
TBR – Fernandes, Yellow Card, 82’
Lineups
Rowdies: Farr, Munjoma, Kleemann (Fernandes, 79’), Guillen (Bubb, 7’), Niyongabire, Worth (Perez, 64’), Hilton (Mustali, 79’), Crisostomo, Spaulding, Jennings (Rivera, 65’), Arteaga
Rowdies Bench: Breno, Bubb, DeJesus, Perez, Fernandes, Rivera, Ortiz, Mustali
Detroit: Saldana, Sheldon, Carroll, Amoo-Mensah, Levis, Rodriguez, Espeleta, Murphy, Williams, Morris, Rutz
Detroit Bench: Steinwascher, Villanueva, Ryan Williams, Abdoulaye Diop, Michael Bryant, Elvis Amoh, Jeciel Cedeno
