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
