Match Recaps

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 16, 2016) — Joe Cole and Eric Avila carried the Rowdies with a pair of spectacular goals in a 3-0 home win over Puerto Rico FC on a blockbuster night at Al Lang Stadium.

Cole’s goal, in the 10th minute, must be seen to be believed, an unfathomable bicycle kick from 15 yards out that looped over PRFC goalkeeper David Meves and into the net to give the Rowdies an early lead.

“It was nice,” Cole said. “It’s always nice to score the first goal in a game and it was a lovely goal. It’ll be a nice one to watch and send home for everyone to watch, but the main thing is that the team was excellent tonight.”

Avila’s goal, 15 minutes later, was special in its own right. Avila received the ball from Georgi Hristov 22 yards from goal and turned to face the net before casually bending it around Meves and tucking into in the upper 90 in pinpoint fashion.

On any other night, Avila’s goal would have been a show-stopper. On this night, it was merely the second great goal of the night.

Tommy Heinemann added a third in second-half stoppage time.

Altogether, it added up to three points and a clean home win.

“It’s important that we got three points to bounce back from last week,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “I think there’s a couple of ‘Goal of the Season’ contenders there and I feel bad for Eric. He had a fantastic goal. … I think Joe is going to get a bit of coverage — and quite rightly so.”

Puerto Rico offered a bit going forward, but was never clinical enough to put the result in doubt, particularly because of the Rowdies’ fast start. Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens faced just two shots all night, saving both to post his fifth clean sheet of the NASL season.

Coming off a 4-1 loss to Carolina last week, Tampa Bay needed a positive result to get things moving in the right direction once again. The three-goal margin of victory was the Rowdies’ largest since a 3-0 win over Atlanta last June.

“We kept pushing (even late,)” Campbell said. “The message at halftime was that I wanted to play as if it was still nil-nil and go and build from there. Apart from last Saturday, game in and game out, we’ve made a lot of chances and haven’t capitalized. It was great to make those chances again, but to put three in the back of the net was pleasing. … We’ve had too many ties, especially at home, so I wanted the guys to go out and there and bounce back.”

Heinemann’s goal, his third of the season, came long after the result was sealed, but will be another boost for the Rowdies.

“It was good for Tommy,” Cole said. “He works so hard and he’s a good team member. You want your strikers scoring goals. Georgi is getting goals and he’s confident. Tommy is getting goals and he’s growing in confidence. We need to keep both of them fit and the team is starting to take shape. I’m proud of the performance tonight.”

Tampa Bay gets back to work Monday with a stiff challenge on the docket for the weekend. The Rowdies host the first-place New York Cosmos at home next weekend in a critical early Fall Season showdown. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here. 

Attendance: 5,873

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Joe Cole – 10th minute
Rowdies: Eric Avila (assisted by Georgi Hristov) – 25th minute
Rowdies: Tommy Heinemann (Juan Guerra) – 90th minute

Caution Summary
Puerto Rico: Rudy Dawson – 33rd minute
Rowdies: Michael Nanchoff – 63rd minute
Puerto Rico: Sidney Rivera – 76th minute
Rowdies: Darnell King – 78th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens (c); D Darnell King, D Justin Chavez, D Stefan Antonijevic, D Walter Ramirez; M Joe Cole, M Juan Guerra, M Keith Savage (Freddy Adu 88′); F Eric Avila (Tommy Heinemann 74′), F Georgi Hristov, F Michael Nanchoff

Puerto Rico FC XI (4-4-2): GK David Meves; D Ramón Martín Del Campo, D Rudy Dawson, D Cristiano Dias (c), D Ramón Soria; M Paulo Mendes, M Chris Nurse (Brian Bement 19′), M Tyler Rudy, M Evans Frimpong (Jorge Rivera 60′); F Pedro Mendes (Sidney Rivera 72′), F Hector Ramos

CARY, N.C. (July 9, 2016) – The absence of Neill Collins and Tamika Mkandawire on the Tampa Bay Rowdies back line was felt in Carolina on Saturday night.

Tampa Bay asked veterans Stefan Antonijevic and Frankie Sanfilippo to step in and replace the pair of injured centerbacks but both were called for fouls that led to penalty kicks in the Rowdies’ 4-1 loss to the RailHawks.

““[We’re] obviously disappointed with the result,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “Obviously to lose 4-1, it’s a big signal for us.”

Both Collins and Mkandawire had played every minute of the NASL Fall Season, but injuries sustained in last weekend’s Spring Season opener left them unavailable for the match.

From the opening whistle, the RailHawks, who hadn’t won a league match since April, took full advantage of the crippled Tampa Bay defense.

“We knew [Collins and Mkandawire] were going to be big misses for us,” Campbell said. “Defensively we’ve been very good this season and they’ve been a big component of that. We still shouldn’t concede four goals.”

Things started early when the 11th minute a Nazmi Albadawi corner found the head of Matt Fondy who beat Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens to give the hosts an early lead.

It didn’t take long for the Rowdies to equalize, however.

Eric Avila was fouled just inches inside the Carolina box giving the Rowdies a chance at a penalty kick. Georgi Hristov stepped up to take it and beat Carolina goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre with a shot to the lower left corner of the net. Hristov is 2-for-2 on PKs this season after converting an attempt against Miami FC back in April.

With the match tied once more, the RailHawks settled in and began peppering Pickens with shots, not giving the Rowdies a chance to attack.

In the 32nd minute, a through ball gave Matt Watson a dangerous chance but Pickens came off his line to make a sliding stop. Nine minutes later, Pickens made his best save of the night, a reaction save on a one-touch shot from Brian Shriver just inside the 6-yard box.

Where Pickens bailed out the Rowdies with big saves in the first half, there wasn’t much he could do in the final 45 minutes.

High pressure from Carolina eventually led to their first PK of the match early in the second half. Antonijevic was whistled for a foul on Fondy inside the Tampa Bay box in the 55th minute. Shriver took the penalty for Carolina and, despite a correct guess from Pickens, converted to give the RailHawks a lead they would not relinquish.

“I thought that was very close,” Campbell said. “I thought Stefan got a touch on the ball. I thought that was a very hard decision to make by the referee.”

Four minutes later, the onslaught of penalties continued as a sliding Sanfilippo grazed the ball with his hand giving the RailHawks another PK. Albadawi stepped to the spot on this occasion and gave Carolina some insurance.

With the two-goal deficit, Tampa Bay pushed men forward, however, that left them exposed at the back leading to Carolina’s fourth goal of the match. Albadawi walked right through the Rowdies defense and let loose a shot from the top of the box that glanced off the left post and in.

Meanwhile Tampa Bay couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half, failing to generate many dangerous looks on goal, as they fall to 0-1-1 (W-T-L) early in the Fall Season.

The Rowdies will have a pair of home matches the next two weeks to turn things around. Tampa Bay will host expansion side Puerto Rico FC on the 16th and then the New York Cosmos on the 23rd at Al Lang Stadium. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Scoring Summary
Carolina: Matt Fondy – 11th minute (assisted by Nazmi Albadawi)
Tampa Bay: Georgi Hristov – 20th minute (penalty kick)
Carolina: Brian Shriver – 55th minute (penalty kick)
Carolina: Nazmi Albadawi – 59th minute (penalty kick)
Carolina: Nazmi Albadawi – 71st minute

Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Juan Guerra – 22nd minute
Carolina: Aly Hassan – 85th minute

Starting Lineups
Tampa Bay XI: GK Matt Pickens (c); D Darnell King, Frankie Sanfilippo, Stefan Antonijevic, Walter Ramirez; M Junior Burgos, Juan Guerra (Tommy Heinemann 63′), Joe Cole (Freddy Adu 71′); F Eric Avila (Michael Nanchoff 63′), Georgi Hristov, Kalif Alhassan

Carolina XI: GK Brian Sylvestre; D Drew Beckie, James Marcelin, Simon Mensing, Kareem Moses; M Matt Watson, Nazmi Albadawi (c); M Tiyi Shipalane (Marvin Ceballos 68′), Brian Shriver (Steven Miller 78′), Austin Da Luz; F Matt Fondy (Aly Hassan 82′)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (July 2, 2016) – An otherworldly effort from Jacksonville goalkeeper Sean Lewis limited the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a frustrating single point on the opening night of the NASL Fall Season with a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd of 7,690 fans at Al Lang Stadium. 

Lewis made 10 saves in his first start of the year for the Armada FC to spurn double-digit scoring chances for the Rowdies. 

Jacksonville took a lead in the 12th minute through Zach Steinberger, but the Rowdies equalized less than a minute later via Georgi Hristov to level the match.

“I thought we played outstanding between both boxes and you saw some of the chances that we had,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We just were nowhere near clinical enough. We could’ve had three or four goals tonight, so I have mixed emotions.”

Falling behind early to Steinberger’s goal seemed to be the kick the Rowdies needed to come alive. 

From that moment on, the Rowdies thoroughly dominated the match and were unfortunate not to score and win by multiple goals.

Michael Nanchoff and Juan Guerra each had shots saved in the 35th minute, including a wonderful palm by Lewis to deflect a Guerra chip out for a corner.

As it turned out, Lewis was just getting started.

Lewis was on the scene again in the 43rd minute, racing off his line to beat Nanchoff to a loose ball in the Armada FC’s 18-yard box and send the match into the halftime break even at 1-1.

In the second half, it was more of the same.

A 52nd minute save on Nanchoff’s shot eventually rebounded to Hristov, who fed to Eric Avila, but Avila’s smash of a goal was waived off due to offside.

In the 61st minute, Kalif Alhassan lasered a shot from outside the box that appeared destined to go into the top corner of the net, only for Lewis to intervene at full stretch and make a diving save.

“It’s disappointing to come out with a draw,” Avila said. “We tried to control the game but didn’t put it away and this is what happened. We came away with a draw. When you don’t put it away, nothing else matters. … It’s disappointing on our end because we played the game well, but finishing was our problem. We liked that we created the chances, but now we need to put them away.”

By the end of the night, Lewis had amassed double-digit saves. In comparison, Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens needed to make just one.

Tampa Bay was forced to play with a new lineup due to the absence of midfielder Joe Cole, who was unavailable due to a family matter. Walter Ramirez made his first start of the season at left back and Tampa Bay had to use two of its three subs to replace center backs Tamika Mkandawire and Neill Collins due to injury.

Still, the back line held and secured a point for the Rowdies on an otherwise frustrating night.

“It’s frustrating that we couldn’t get a second goal,” Campbell said. “At the minute, I’m a bit downbeat because we have to win games when we play like that.”

Up next, the Rowdies head to Carolina to take on the RailHawks next Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park before returning home for back-to-back home games against Puerto Rico FC and the New York Cosmos on July 16 and 23, respectively.

Scoring Summary
Armada: Zach Steinberger (assisted by Mechack Jérôme) – 12th minute
Rowdies: Georgi Hristove (assisted by Darnell King) – 13th minute

Caution Summary
Armada: Tyler Ruthven – 45th minute
Armada: Beto Navarro – 75th minute
Armada: Lucas Scaglia – 90th minute
Rowdies: Juan Guerra – 90th minute

Starting XI
Rowdies (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, D Tamika Mkandawire (Stefan Antonijevic 45′), D Neill Collins (Justin Chavez 73′), D Walter Ramirez; M Juan Guerra, M Michael Nanchoff (Tommy Heinemann 72′), M Junior Burgos; F Eric Avila, F Georgi Hristov, F Kalif Alhassan

Jacksonville Armada FC (4-3-3): GK Sean Lews; D Mechack Jérôme, D Beto Navarro, D Tyler Ruthven, D Anthony Wallace; M Patrick Otte (Matt Bahner 53′), M Kevan George, M Zach Steinberger; F Pascal Millien (Alex Dixon 64′), F Charles Eloundou (Lucas Scaglia 83′), F Junior Sandoval

COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 15, 2016) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies crashed out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in lopsided fashion Wednesday night, falling to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Columbus Crew SC.

Things were going fairly well before the Rowdies in the first half but progress was halted by a weather delay of just under two hours midway through the opening 45 minutes. When the match resumed, it was all Crew.

“I’m not happy with the result at all and it’s a tough one for us to swallow,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We never really got started when the restart came and the Crew scored with their first shot of the match. … We looked at the opposition and we know Columbus has some really good attacking players. They’re a real threat going forward and they showed that tonight. We knew they would be clinical, but, unfortunately for us, they were very clinical tonight.”

Goals scored by Justin Meram, Cristian Martinez, Ethan Finlay and Marshall Hollingsworth saw the Crew advance to the Fifth Round of the Open Cup.

The match was scoreless in the 26th minute when lightning in the vicinity of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium and play was halted. To that point, the Rowdies were more than holding their own against MLS opposition.

Tampa Bay could’ve scored a goal or two with a more lethal nature in front of goal in the opening portion of the match, but didn’t show enough to score.

The weather delay lasted one hour and 55 minutes and when it finally ended, Columbus took immediate control of the match.

Meram opened the scoring in the 41st minute when Frankie Sanfilippo tried to clear the ball, but got only a slight touch on it and it remained in the path of Meram. He finished it well to give the Crew a 1-0 halftime lead.

“We knew that we had created a few chances in the first half,” Campbell said. “I wanted the guys to do more of the same and stay patient in possession, but as I’ve said, Columbus was very clinical against us. … We can learn a lot from this and strive to get to their level.”

Columbus dominated in the second half with goals in the 48th, 52nd and 68th minutes from Martinez, Finlay (penalty) and Hollingsworth, respectively to pull away and ease into the next round.

Tampa Bay fielded a strong lineup in the match but with the notable absence of club captain Tamika Mkandawire. The Rowdies hadn’t played without Mkandawire since October 25, 2014. Mkandawire had played every competitive minute since then, a streak of 3,870 minutes, but he was ruled out of Wednesday’s match due to illness.

The Rowdies tried to find a way back into the match and came to life in the last 10 minutes, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

“We had a lot of shots and a lot of chances, but we didn’t work their goalkeeper enough,” Campbell said. “Matt (Pickens) had no chance on any of their goals, but it wasn’t like he was overworked. Columbus’s first four chances all resulted in goals. That’s the difference between the levels, when they had a chance, they scored, but we didn’t manage to finish any of ours off.”

Tampa Bay has now officially reached the midseason break and does not play again until the Fall Season opener against the Jacksonville Armada FC at home on July 2.

Scoring Summary
Columbus: Justin Meram – 41st minute
Columbus: Cristian Martinez – 48th minute (Assisted by Ethan Finlay)
Columbus: Ethan Finlay – 52nd minute (penalty)
Columbus: Marshall Hollingsworth – 65th minute (Assisted Hector Jimenez)

Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Darnell King – 51st minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens (c); D Darnell King, Frankie Sanfilippo, Neill Collins, Ben Sweat; M Joe Cole (Justin Chavez 71′), Juan Guerra, Junior Burgos; F Eric Avila, Tommy Heinemann (Walter Ramirez 46′), Georgi Hristov

Columbus XI (4-2-3-1): GK Brad Stuver; D Hector Jimenez, Chad Barson, Michael Parkhurst (Corey Ashe 70′), Waylon Francis; M Rodrigo Saravia, Tony Tchani (Wil Trapp 46′); M Cristian Martinez, Emil Martinez, Marshall Hollingsworth; F Justin Meram (Ethan Finlay 46′)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (June 11, 2016) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies won’t win the Spring Season, but they’ve positioned themselves well for the Fall Season ahead after earning a 1-1 draw against the Jacksonville Armada FC in sweltering conditions in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m frustrated by the result,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We created lots of opportunities. Their keeper made a couple of good saves and we had some bad finishes. I’m frustrated that we couldn’t get the win, especially for the fans who made the long trip up and didn’t stop supporting us for the full 90 minutes.”

Tampa Bay entered the day with an outside shot at the Spring title, but needed to score at least six goals and win by five or more to pull ahead of the New York Cosmos. Instead, Tampa Bay finished on 16 points and will be two behind whichever team wins the Spring Season.

After a dull first half, the Rowdies were dealt a fortunate hand when Armada FC defender Shawn Nicklaw was shown a straight red card in the 46th minute, but it was Jacksonville that scored first, despite the man disadvantage.

Junior Sandoval’s spectacular long-range strike in the 52nd minute put the Armada FC ahead, but it was matches by a long-range goal from Junior Burgos in the 84th minute to pull Tampa Bay even.

“It was a bizarre game,” Campbell said. “I almost felt like we were the home team because they were sitting so deep and defending. They were letting us have the ball and that’s where we have to capitalize on the couple of chances that we created.”

Jacksonville’s goal was something of a sucker punch, coming so soon after the Rowdies have been given a man advantage.

Campbell wasted no time in trying to turn the match around, showing aggressiveness with his substitutions as the Rowdies chased the game.

Tommy Heinemann entered the match for Ben Sweat just after the goal as Tampa Bay pulled a defender in favor of more attacking options. At the same time, Jacksonville showed its intent to defend for the rest of the match, giving defender Anthony Wallace a debut as he replaced forward Alhassane Keita.

It took a while for Tampa Bay to find its equalizer, but Joe Cole set up Burgos for a tremendous goal from outside the box in the 84th minute to tie the match. It was Burgos’ first goal of the season, but he could have had more as the Rowdies looked likely to win the match in the dying minutes before eventually running out of time.

Jacksonville goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo made a diving save on an effort from Cole in the 87th minute and watched a Burgos shot dribble just wide of the post in stoppage time. Deeper into stoppage time, Darnell King jumped onto a loose ball in the box, but his first-time effort sailed over the crossbar as the Rowdies settled for a point.

The Rowdies now move forward to Wednesday’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round match against the Columbus Crew SC in Ohio in a few short days.

Tampa Bay opens the Fall Season against Jacksonville at home on Saturday, July 2. For tickets call (727)222-2000 or click here.

Scoring Summary
Armada: Junior Sandoval – 52nd minute (Assisted by Charles Eloundou)
Rowdies: Junior Burgos – 84th minute (Assisted by Joe Cole)

Caution Summary
Rowdies: Ben Sweat – 12th minute
Armada: Shawn Nicklaw – 46th minute (Red Card)
Armada: Beto Navarro – 89th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Ben Sweat (Tommy Heinemann 53′); M Joe Cole, Juan Guerra (Junior Burgos 63′), Kalif Alhassan (Danny Mwanga 72′); F Eric Avila, Georgi Hristov, Walter Ramirez

Jacksonville XI (4-3-3): GK Miguel Gallardo; D Shawn Nicklaw, Beto Navarro, Tyler Ruthven, Bryan Burke; M Patrick Otte, Junior Sandoval, Kevan George (c); F Danny Barrow (Charles Eloundou 31′), Alhassane Keita (Anthony Wallace 54′), Jemal Johnson (Nicolas Perea 80′)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (June 4, 2016) — It was a good week to be Georgi Hristov.

And as Georgi Hristov went this week, so went the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Hristov scored two for the Rowdies to lift his team to a 2-1 win over Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium to keep the Rowdies alive in the race for the Spring Season title and an automatic berth in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team playoffs. He also scored the only goal of Wednesday night’s win over FC Cincinnati in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Hristov’s first against Ottawa was a delightful chip over Fury FC goalkeeper Romuald Peiser in the 20th minute and the game-winning goal was a tidy finish after Joe Cole dribbled by most of Ottawa to set him up.

“It feels great (to be on this kind of run,)” Hristov said as the Rowdies earned their third win in eight days. “It’s tough to play three games in one week and we won all of them. I have to say that the whole team, all of the guys, have been working really, really hard. They work so hard and this win is for all of us.”

With the win, the Rowdies moved to 15 points in the Spring Season with one game remaining. The New York Cosmos (18 points) had a chance to clinch the Spring with a win in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, but lost 2-1, opening the door for a handful of teams. Tampa Bay, Indy and Fort Lauderdale are all tied in second place on 15 points going into the final weekend.

Hristov’s first goal gave the Rowdies a halftime lead and extended Tampa Bay’s streak of scoring in the first half to four-straight matches. 

Soon after halftime, in the 49th minute, Ottawa leveled in the match through Carl Haworth on an unlucky passage of play for the Rowdies. A shot from Mauro Eustaquio was blocked by Juan Guerra, but the ball ran to Haworth in open space for a shot past Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens.

The Rowdies’ response, though, was worthy of the full three points.

Rowdies midfielder Joe Cole deserves a ton of credit for Hristov’s gamewinner just three minutes later. Cole dribbled through a handful of Fury FC defenders and drew in even more before spring Hristov in on goal with a lengthy through ball. Hristov took a touch and then finished with the outside of his right foot to put the Rowdies ahead 2-1.

“It was the perfect response,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We spoke at halftime about going out as if the score was 0-0 because I thought the next goal would be huge. When they scored, I was frustrated because of the manner of it. For a split second, I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go again at home,’ but thankfully the guys gave a great response and got a goal pretty much straightaway.”

Tampa Bay could’ve extended its lead in the 60th minute when Cole took a shot that was blocked from going to goal by the hand of Ottawa right back Lance Rozeboom. Hristov could’ve had a penalty kick for a hat trick, but appeals for handball for denied.

The Rowdies cranked into high gear from there, peppering crosses through Ottawa’s box and forcing Peiser to make three saves to keep the Rowdies from scoring a third.

Ultimately, a third goal wouldn’t be required.

Pickens needed to make just one save on the night as the Rowdies picked up their third win of the week.

“It’s been good,” Campbell said. “I’ve said it all season. The guys come in day in and day out and the attitude and application from the guys has been superb. We haven’t quite had a couple calls go our way. If we had them, we’d be right up there. Credit to the guys because they haven’t been disappointed, they’ve been frustrated and they come every day to set things right.”

The Rowdies head to Jacksonville to play the Jacksonville Armada FC next weekend with a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday afternoon at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Georgi Hristov – 20th minute (Assisted by Kalif Alhassan)
Ottawa: Carl Haworth – 49th minute
Rowdies: Georgi Hristov – 52nd minute (Assisted by Joe Cole)

Caution Summary
Rowdies: Kalif Alhassan – 22nd minute
Rowdies: Georgi Hristov – 60th minute
Ottawa: Rafael Alves – 73rd minute
Ottawa: Jonny Steele – 82nd minute
Ottawa: Bryan Olivera – 90+ minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Ben Sweat; M Juan Guerra, Michael Nanchoff, Joe Cole (Justin Chavez 78′); F Eric Avila (Eric Avila 56′), Georgi Hristov (Walter Ramirez 88′), Kalif Alhassan

Ottawa Fury FC XI (4-3-3): GK Romuald Peiser; D Lance Rozeboom, Rafael Alves, Fernando Timbo, Onua Obasi; M James Bailey, Mauro Eustaquio (Mallan Roberts  85′), Jonny Steele; F Carl Haworth, Kyle Porter (Dennis Chin 67′), Idan Vered (Bryan Olivera 67′)

Attendance: 6,078

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (June 1, 2016) — For the first time since 2013, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have earned a second match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

After losing its first Open Cup match in each of the last two seasons, Tampa Bay has now advanced to the Fourth Round with a 1-0 win over the USL’s FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night in St. Petersburg. Georgi Hristov scored the only goal of the match in the 11th minute.

The Rowdies will face MLS’s Columbus Crew SC in Columbus on June 15 in the Fourth Round.

“I’m delighted to be in the next round of the U.S. Open Cup,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “From a selfish, personal standpoint, I love cup competitions. I had some success in them back in England, but I’ve had zero success with them over here as a player and as an assistant coach. Now as a head coach, I wanted to go out and win. It’s a completely different animal, playing in the cup.”

Tampa Bay had been dumped out of the last two Open Cups at the first hurdle, losing to USL teams Orlando City SC in 2014 and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2015. 

“Overall, I think it was a very good performance from the whole team,” Hristov said. “Honestly, it was really tough because of a long trip over the weekend and we had a really short period of time to prepare for that game. … It’s always very difficult to play against USL teams and we’ve lost those games the last two years. I’m very glad we’re going forward to play an MLS team.”

Hristov’s 11th minute goal was the earliest Tampa Bay has scored this season. After failing to score in the first half of their first six matches this season, the Rowdies have now scored in the opening half in three consecutive matches.

Hristov was the recipient of a long ball over the top from Neill Collins just more than 10 minutes into the match. Hristov collected the ball outside the box, beat two defenders with his dribble and then fired past FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt to edge the Rowdies ahead.

As it turned out, one goal was enough.

Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens made two saves on the night to keep his fifth clean sheet in nine matches to open the year. Ahead of Pickens, Rowdies defenders made a handful of blocks to ensure Pickens had as easy a night as possible.

“In these little tournaments, we’re going to have to make a save here and there and absorb some pressure here and there,” Pickens said. “We held onto a 1-0 lead. We would’ve liked it to be two or three, but we’ve got a good defensive team. In my eyes, it’s a good thing to score 10 minutes into a game and defend them off for 80 minutes. Well done to the guys.”

Tampa Bay could’ve doubled the lead with an impressive build in the 51st minute, but both Walter Ramirez and Junior Burgos declined open shots in favor of trying to find something better. In the end, Ramirez fired from a close angle and hit the far post.

The Rowdies closed the match in a professional manner, enduring five minutes of stoppage time to clinch a berth in the Fourth Round. That match against Columbus will be played midweek on June 15 after the Rowdies close the Spring Season in Jacksonville on June 11.

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Georgi Hristov – 11th minute (Assisted by Neill Collins)

Caution Summary
Cincinnati: Kenney Walker – 70th minute
Tampa Bay: Darnell King – 78th minute
Tampa Bay: Joe Cole – 90th minute
Cincinnati: Corben Bone – 90th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Ben Sweat; M Joe Cole, Juan Guerra, Junior Burgos (Justin Chavez 83′); F Eric Avila (Kalif Alhassan 69′), Georgi Hristov, Walter Ramirez (Danny Mwanga 77′)

FC Cincinnati (4-2-3-1): GK Mitch Hildebrandt; D Pat McMahon, Paul Nicholson (Evan Lee 46′), Harrison Delbridge, Tyler Polak; M Kenney Walker (Antoine Hoppenot 88′), Ross Tomaselli Omar Cummings 79′); M Andrew Wiedeman, Corben Bone, Jimmy McLaughlin; F Sean Okoli

BLAINE, Minn. (May 28, 2016)—The Tampa Bay Rowdies are back on track following an emphatic 2-0 road win over Minnesota United FC on Saturday night. Midfielders Joe Cole and Eric Avila gave the Rowdies the win at NSC Stadium in Blaine, Minn.

Offensively, the Rowdies looked sharper than at any previous point this season.

Defensively, Tampa Bay stood tall against the Loons’ potent attack.

All together, it was a performance fully worthy of the three points.

“For most of our games, we’ve performed pretty well and the results haven’t matched it,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “We feel we should have more points on the board, but credit to the players, they’ve never put their heads down. They’ve kept coming in and working hard and we all knew that if we kept playing the way we were, things would change.”

They changed quick Saturday night.

Joe Cole’s first goal, brilliantly headed home off a Kalif Alhassan cross gave the Rowdies a lead just before halftime. This goal is the first for the Rowdies since his arrival in early May.

Just after halftime, midfielder Eric Avila doubled the lead, coolly finishing a Cole through ball first-time past Minnesota goalkeeper Sammy Ndjock into the bottom corner of the net.

“I thought we played really well tonight, especially in the first half, and we showed a lot of character,” Cole said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do for sure, but we picked up the points tonight. That was my third header goal of my career. … It was nice to get on the score sheet and get my first goal for my new club.”

The match was a chippy affair. Minnesota United FC had not conceded a goal at home all season, so down 2-0, the play got feisty.

The frustration began to boil over in the 59th minute when Loons midfielder Ibson, in disagreement with a foul, kicked a ball at the center referee, earning himself a yellow card in the progress.

As the match continued, the temperature approached a boil.

Minnesota had a great chance to pull a goal back in the 64th minute, but goalkeeper Matt Pickens made a point blank save on J.C. Banks inside the 6-yard box to keep the scoreline at 2-0. Minnesota appeared to have scored in the 68th minute, completing a sweeping move forward with some nice passing, but the goalscorer, Bernardo Anor, was flagged for offside.

The Rowdies nearly extended their lead to 3-0 in the 83rd minute, but Michae Nanchoff’s bending free kick was pawed away by a diving Sammy Ndjock just before it crossed the line.

The Loons pressed hard in the final minutes, but Pickens tallied three saves to earn his fourth clean sheet of the season.

The win was exactly what the Rowdies needed heading into a busy week that begins Wednesday night with the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match against FC Cincinnati.

“We had a chat before the game about how bad we wanted to get good results in the remaining three games of the Spring Season, plus the Open Cup,” Campbell said. “Going into the Open Cup after this result is great. We didn’t want to go into that on a bad note.”

Scoring Summary
Rowdies: Joe Cole – 43rd minute (Assisted by Kalif Alhassan)
Rowdies: Eric Avila – 47th minute (Assisted by Joe Cole)

Caution Summary
Minnesota: Jamie Watson – 11th minute
Tampa Bay: Neill Collins – 34th minute
Minnesota: Ibson – 59th minute
Tampa Bay: Juan Guerra – 83rd minute
Tampa Bay: Danny mwanga – 90th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-2-3-1): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Zac Portillos (Walter Ramirez 86′); M Juan Guerra, Joe Cole; M Eric Avila, Kalif Alhassan (Danny Mwanga 79′), Michael Nanchoff (Justin Chavez 90′); F Georgi Hristov

Minnesota United FC XI (4-2-3-1): GK Sammy Ndjock; D Kevin Venegas, Tiago Calvano, Damion Lowe, Brent Kallman (Lance Laing 50′); M Jeb Brovsky (Ibson 28′), Juliano Vicentini; M Bernardo Anor, Stefano Pinho, Jamie Watson (JC Banks 63′); F Christian Ramirez

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y (May 22, 2016) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies lost 2-1 to the New York Cosmos at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York.

After an 18th minute goal by forward Tommy Heinemann, the Rowdies looked to be in control of the match but the Cosmos scored two of their own to give the home team a 2-1 lead going into the half. First-half substitute Danny Mwanga had a goal waived off for offside in the dying minutes that would have tied it up for the Rowdies.

The Rowdies goal was initiated by midfielder Kalif Alhassan, who after fighting off a Cosmos defender, placed a crafty through ball to Heinemann. As Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer came off his line, the forward slotted the ball past him to make it 1-0.

The lead lasted just over 10 minutes, as the Cosmos would equalize in the 32nd minute. A great series of passes left midfielder Juan Arango alone on goal with only Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens to beat. Unselfishly, the Venezuelan spotted forward Yasmani Duk to his right and laid it off to the Bolivian for him to tap it in.

Moments after the goal, forward Tommy Heinemann was forced off the field due to injury, with forward Danny Mwanga replacing him.

The Cosmos went up 2-1 in the 40th minute, after a goal scored by midfielder Ruben Bover. Arango picked up his second assist of the match with a perfectly placed cross that found an incoming Bover. The substitute volleyed his shot past Pickens from inside the 18-yard box.

The Spanish midfielder came on early in the match after midfielder Niko Kranjcar was forced off the pitch due to injury.

The Rowdies came out in the second half hunting for the equalizer, knowing that three points would put them close to the top of the table. 

Despite controlling the match in the second half, the Rowdies struggled to create any dangerous chances going up against a tough and organized Cosmos defense. 

Mwanga nearly leveled the match in the 59th minute but his header was off target after a perfect cross by midfielder Joe Cole.

The Rowdies looked to have tied the game in the 83rd minute, but a controversial offside call denied Mwanga his first goal of the season and the potential equalizer. Cole whipped in a great cross from the left flank, which Mwanga headed past Maurer.

As the 93rd minute rolled around, defender Tamika Mkandawire had one last opportunity off a header but the ball was cleared off the line.

Tampa Bay won’t play at home again until Wednesday, June 1 when they host the USL’s FC Cincinnati in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round action. Tickets are free when fans buy a seat for the Rowdies’ June 4 game against Ottawa Fury FC. Tickets are also free for 2016 season ticket holders, but you need to reserve seats by calling (727) 222-2000.

The Rowdies are back in action next Saturday, when they travel to face Minnesota United FC.

Scoring Summary
Tampa Bay: Tommy Heinemann – 18th minute (assisted by Kalif Alhassan)
New York: Yasmani Duk – 32nd minute (assisted by Juan Arango)
New York: Ruben Bover – 40th minute (assisted by Juan Arango)

Caution Summary
New York: Carlos Mendes – 36th minute
New York: Ruben Bover – 57th minute
Tampa Bay: Junior Burgos – 84th minute

Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-2-3-1): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Zac Portillos; M Juan Guerra (Junior Burgos 62′), Joe Cole; M Eric Avila, Kalif Alhassan, Michael Nanchoff (Georgi Hristov 77′); F Tommy Heinemann (Danny Mwanga 39′)

Cosmos XI (4-1-4-1): GK Jimmy Maurer; D Hunter Freeman, Jimmy Ockford, Carlos Mendes (c), Ayoze; M Danny Szetela; M Sebastian Guenzatti, Juan Arango, Yohandry Orozco (David Diosa 87′), Niko Kranjcar (Ruben Bover 4′ (Andres Flores 81′)); F Yasmani Duk