ST. PETERSBURG – It took until the 85th minute but the Tampa Bay Rowdies returned to winning form with a come from behind 2-1 win over Loudoun United FC at Al Lang Stadium on Friday night.
A defensive mistake gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute. Robert Dambrot was left unmarked in the box allowing Darluis Pax to send the ball in for the right, finding Dambrot for an easy finish. The goal finished an opportunistic attack down the right side, catching the Rowdies flat in the early stages of the match.
Tampa Bay fought back and in the 34th minute had the equalizer as Sebastian Guenzatti took advantage of a rebound. Leo Fernandes’ shot was well saved by Keegan Meyer but the rebound fell to Connery Antley who cut it back for his captain to pull his side back on level terms going into halftime.
The second half saw the hosts push trying to find the winner but it wasn’t until the final five minutes that the winner came. A Fernandes corner pinged around in the box and saw Foster Langsdorf get to the loose ball the quickest and poke it home to send the crowd into raptures.
“That’s what we have to do, grind out results when we’re not at our best,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “It says a lot about our boys that they were able to do that. Frustrated last week that we didn’t come back from a goal behind, so really pleased we did that.”
It could have been more, the Rowdies had chances, especially in the latter stages of the first half but just couldn’t make them count. There could have been a very quick reply in the 16th minute as Fernandes swung in the ball for Jordan Adebayo-Smith but he just couldn’t hit the target. Possession was up in the closing stages but Tampa Bay just couldn’t create enough chances to get a lead at the break.
Collins was right that it wasn’t his side’s best performance. They lost possession, managing just 45.7 percent and just couldn’t find chances, managing just 65.1 percent passing accuracy in Loudoun’s half. They say championship sides get results when not playing at their best and that’s certainly what happened in Saint Petersburg on Friday night.
Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Rowdies
Florida Soccer Report 