Tampa Bay Rowdies & Minnesota Draw in NASL Season Home Opener
The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Minnesota United FC battled to a tame scoreless draw at the newly renovated Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg tonight.
In front of a packed house of 7,010 fans, the Rowdies didn’t start well as Minnesota controlled the early play. In truth, the first half was of poor quality as both sides struggled to control the ball and move it with enough guile and speed to threaten their opponent. United had the best chance of the half and it came as Minnesota midfielder Miguel Ibarra pressured Kamil Contofalsky in the Tampa goal. The US international forced the keeper to give the ball away near his own goal. Christian Ramirez received the ball and tried to chip the ball over Contofalsky but the keeper rectified his earlier error in palming the ball away to thwart the threat.
This seemed to spark the Rowdies into some positive action and they forced a series of corners as the impressive Robert Hernandez (pictured above right) started to look dangerous cutting in from the right wing. The Minnesota defence dealt with the threats equally impressively and the game entered the half time break scoreless.
The second half saw the Rowdies on the ascendancy as they worked the ball to the flanks. In the 48th minute, a Rowdies corner was cleared only to the edge of the box, where it landed at the feet of former Orlando City Lion, Corey Hertzog (pictured above). Hertzog ripped a shot on target but Sammy Ndjock in the United goal pulled off a fine reflex save to keep the score level.
Perhaps the best chance of the game for Tampa arrived in the 70th minute as second half substitute Brian Shriver connected with a cross from the left wing only to see his miss hit shot pass by the open net. Tampa then had one final chance to win the game in the 89th minute as Hertzog stooped low to head a Martin Nunez cross just wide of the Minnesota goal.
“The crowd was amazing,” Tampa Bay Head Coach Thomas Rongen (pictured above) said. “The guys just came up to me and said, ‘Coach, I’m sorry we couldn’t give the fans more.’ The house was rocking, the stadium was great. We’ll get wins at home. We’ll win much more than we lose. I think people will walk away saying we were a bit unlucky and worked hard.”
“We didn’t play particularly well in the first half,” Rongen added. “That said, we had some good opportunities. In the second half, there were four or five occasions where the ball is bouncing around and we’ve got half chances, but we just couldn’t get to. We’re all disappointed that we couldn’t show the fans a few goals.”
“It was a difficult night for both teams,” said United Head Coach Manny Lagos. “We had some good moments where we played some lovely soccer. I wish we could’ve had a few more chances, and ultimately turned them into goals.”
Up next, the Rowdies head north to play the rival New York Cosmos on April 18 before returning home to welcome Jacksonville Armada FC to Al Lang Stadium on April 25.
Starting Lineups
Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Kamil Čontofalský; D Darnell King, Tamika Mkandawire, Stefan Antonijevic, Zac Portillos; M Marcelo Saragosa (c) (Verneri Valimaa 76′), Justin Chavez, Georgi Hristov; F Robert Hernandez (Martin Nuñez 72′), Darwin Espinal (Brian Shriver 60′), Corey Hertzog
Minnesota United FC XI (4-5-1): GK Sammy Ndjock; D Kevin Venegas, Tiago Calvano, Cristiano Dias, Justin Davis; M Ibson, Aaron Pitchkolan, Daniel Mendes (Greg Jordan 76′), Miguel Ibarra, Jonny Steele (Jamie Watson 86′); F Christian Ramirez (Pablo Campos 77′)
More photos at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
