BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a long bus trip up to Alabama, the Tampa Bay Rowdies showed little signs of fatigue and managed a 1-1 draw against Birmingham Legion at BBVA Field on Saturday night.
Trailing to an early free-kick goal from Alex Crongale, who put away Bruno Lapa’s ball in 16 minutes into the match. It was looking like it could be a difficult night for the undefeated Rowdies.
The Legion has been a dominant scoring side since the restart managing a 5-1 goal difference coming into this match compared to the Rowdies 4-3. That was cause for concern, especially as the hosts continued to push in the first half.
READ MORE: Weak Second Half Costs Rowdies
But midway through the half Tampa Bay started to threaten as Sebastian Guenzatti saw more of the ball but struggled to make those chances count.
Guenzatti finally made his chances count in the 51st minute to level the scores. Again Juan Tejada was able to provide, sending in a cross that Guenzatti headed home for a vital goal.
@seba9113 2nd goal of the year and @JuanDavidTejada 2nd assist of the year! 🔥 🔥 🔥
Originally tweeted by Tampa Bay Rowdies (@TampaBayRowdies) on July 26, 2020.
That seemed to wake up Birmingham, which started to take more chances. Still, the Rowdies always looked like they had a measure of control over the match, finding opportunities where they came and winning the possession battle convincingly 56-44.
Despite that control, the Legion nearly stole all three points two minutes from time as Anderson Asiedu’s shot almost snuck in. Still, Evan Louro was up to the task, making the save to seal the draw.
With the result, the Rowdies stay top of the group and look healthy but will want to improve on their performances to hold that down.
GRAPHIC: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Florida Soccer Report 