COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (September 7, 2024) – The Tampa Bay Rowdies rallied for two late goals on Saturday night at Weidner Field but fell short in their comeback, falling 4-2 at the hands of Colorado Switchbacks FC. Rowdies veteran Leo Fernandes notched an assist and netted his first goal in nearly two years in the match.
“We’re bitterly disappointed with the result obviously,” said Rowdies Assistant Coach Nicky Law. “The performance in the first 60, 65 minutes was nowhere near our level. It’s not who we are as a team. 4-nil down, I guess a positive you can take is that it didn’t get worse. The guys battled.”
Colorado Springs put the Rowdies under pressure right from the outset, forcing Rowdies keeper Jordan Farr to make three difficult saves within the first five minutes. Those opening minutes were a sign of things to come, as Colorado Springs dominated the remainder of the half.
The hosts struck the first blow in the 28th minute. A headed clearance by the Rowdies fell favorably in the box for Colorado Springs’ Yosuke Hanya, who plucked the ball out of the air with a volley that clipped the head of Tampa Bay’s Blake Bodily on its way into the back of the net. Colorado Springs would double the lead a few minutes before halftime when Tyreek Magee was left with enough space just outside the box to power a left-footed rocket into the goal.
When the Rowdies came back out to the pitch for the second half, they were down a head coach. Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson had been shown a red card during the intermission after a discussion with the referee.
Tampa Bay’s deficit grew again early in the second half. This time, Hanya provided the assist with a cross for an unmarked Justin Dhillon to head home in the 47th minute. Hanya then completed his brace in the 53rd minute with a diving header.
Finding themselves in a deep hole, the Rowdies slowly began to turn the tide in their favor for the final 30 minutes thanks to the contributions of substitutes like Fernandes, Damian Rivera, and newcomer Ben Bender.
“I think, as Robbie said after the game, the guys started trusting each other,” said Law. “They started playing, finding each with simple passes, running forward, playing forward, all the things the coaching staff ask of the players. These guys were doing it in the last 25 minutes. You could see that Colorado were struggling with it a little bit. In the first 65 minutes, we probably weren’t doing the things we usually do well.”
Fernandes nabbed Tampa Bay’s first of tally of the night in the 75th minute as he rose to meet a cross sent in by teammate Eddie Munjome from the right edge of the box. The goal is Fernandes’ first since tearing his Achilles in the 2023 preseason. Ferandes also helped set up Tampa Bay’s second goal of the night when he slid a pass in for Rivera, who shook off a defender before slotting a low strike into the bottom left corner.
“The big positive of the night is obviously a goal for Leo,” said Law. “That’s a huge positive. We all know what he’s been through the last 18 months. To see him score again tonight was great. When the dust settles, we’ll look back and be pleased for him.”
The swing in momentum was not enough to carry the Rowdies to a result, though. Tampa Bay will look to get back in the win column right away as they face another road test on Wednesday with a trip to face off with Birmingham Legion FC. Following that, they’ll return home to Al Lang Stadium to host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.
“It was just one of those days where it just didn’t happen for us,” said Law. “There’s definitely stuff we have to dissect, but of course we have to move on quickly because we’ve got two more games to come this week, starting with Wednesday in Birmingham. It doesn’t get any easier. Birmingham, home to Pittsburgh, two tough games. We can’t be too down. We have to dust ourselves off and look towards those games.”
Scoring Summary
COS – Hanya, 28’
COS – Magee (Dhillon), 42’
COS – Dhillon (Hanya), 47’
COS – Hanya (Fjeldberg), 53’
TBR – Fernandes (Munjoma), 75’
TBR – Rivera (Fernandes), 79’
Caution Summary
TBR – Spaulding, Yellow Card, 10’
COS – Pierre, Yellow Card, 20’
TBR – Head Coach Robbie Neilson, Red Card, Halftime
TBR – Bodily, Yellow Card, 76’
TBR – Guillen, Yellow Card, 86’
Lineups
Rowdies: Farr, Munjoma, Doherty, Boldly, Niyongabire (Rivera, 55’), Crisostomo (Worth, 68’), Hilton, Spaulding, Perez (Kleeman, 55’), Jennings (Fernandes, 68’), Arteaga (Bender, 55’)
Rowdies Bench: Breno, Guillen, Kleemann, Worth, Bender, Fernandes, Rivera
Colorado Springs: Herrera, Pierre, Mahoney, Real, Rocha, Zandi, Williams, Fjeldberg, Hanya, Magee, Dhillon
Colorado Springs Bench: Rice, Harris, Andersson, Rios, Tejada, Mrowka, Damus
