ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 2, 2016) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies dominated possession and scoring chances, but couldn’t find a way past Indy Eleven goalkeeper Jon Busch in a 0-0 draw to open the 2016 North American Soccer League season at Al Lang Stadium.
Tampa Bay did enough to win the match, but needed to be more clinical in front of goal to claim all three points.
Instead, the Rowdies will head into week two of the NASL Spring Season with one point in the bank.
“I’m frustrated that we didn’t get three points, but overall there’s a lot more positives than negatives,” Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “I think we moved the ball really well at times and at the end of it, a point is a point … The only thing—and it’s a big thing—is that we didn’t score. We didn’t turn the domination that we had in possession into goals.”
A slow opening quarter of an hour for the Rowdies made way for a much better performance in the remainder of the opening half.
In the 19th minute, forward Tommy Heinemann had his first chance on goal of the night, receiving a slick through ball from midfield behind his defender, but Indy goalkeeper Jon Busch advanced off his line well to stop the scoring chance.
In the 39th minute, it was Heinemann again wreaking havoc, this time receiving a looping pass from Kalif Alhassan for a first-time volley. The effort was hard an on target, but stopped by a sliding defender.
“We started slow in the first 15 minutes, but once we got a foothold in the game, I thought we dominated the first half,” Campbell said. “We created a couple of chances but didn’t take them and at halftime, I just asked them to start the second half how we finished the first and I think we did.”
A gilded-edge chance fell for Heinemann in the 52nd minute when Junior Burgos led Alhassan to the endline in space. Alhassan cut it back to Heinemann waiting in front of goal, but Busch was again in the right spot to make a reaction save and keep the Rowdies off the scoreboard.
Tampa Bay continued to press in the second half, but an array of off-target shots and near misses kept the score knotted at 0-0.
“For us as a team, we just lacked that last pass to put it in,” Tampa Bay midfielder Eric Avila said. “I think we did well trying to sort it out and push, but it was just the last pass that killed us.”
Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens made his lone save of the match in the 79th minute on a well-hit volley by Eleven forward Eamon Zayed.
“We know that we’re capable of beating every team in this league at home,” Pickens said. “It’s important that we start off on the right foot. We didn’t get (a win,) but we didn’t lose. … We can pick apart a lot of the game and find a lot of positives. We didn’t give up a lot of chances.”
Tampa Bay appealed for a penalty in the 84th minute when second-half substitute Darwin Espinal was chopped down in Indy’s box, but the call didn’t come and the Rowdies would have to settle for just a point on opening night.
In the second half, Tampa Bay really started to assert its will on Indy and force the Eleven to retreat back into a compact defensive shell.
Up next, the Rowdies hit the road to take on Miami FC on April 9 before returning home to square off against FC Edmonton on April 16. For tickets, call (727) 222-2000 or click here.
Caution Summary
Rowdies – Neill Collins – 40th minute (Yellow)
Rowdies – Darnell King – 42nd minute (Yellow)
Indy Eleven – Gorka Larrea – 87th minute (Yellow)
Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-5-1): GK Matt Pickens; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Neill Collins, Zac Portillos; M Justin Chavez, Michael Nanchoff; M Eric Avila, Junior Burgos (Georgi Hristov 73′), Kalif Alhassan (Darwin Espinal 67′); F Tommy Heinemann
Indy XI (4-5-1): GK Jon Busch; D Lovel Palmer (Marco Franco 82′), Colin Falvey, Greg Janicki, Nemanja Vukovic; M Brad Ring , M Nicki Paterson (Gorka Larrea 62′); M Justin Braun, Siniša UbiparipoviÄ, Duke Lacroix (Jair Reinoso 73′); F Eamon Zayed
Attendance: 5,740
