ports Tampa Bay Rowdies Defeat FC Edmonton 2-1 in Preseason Friendly

ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rowdies picked up their sixth win of the preseason Wednesday night, topping FC Edmonton 2-1 at Jacksonville University in the Armada FC Four-Team Challenge.

Both Rowdies goals, scored by Georgi Hristov and Brian Shriver, were direct results of working hard to win the ball back from defenders in front of the opposition net.

The Rowdies didn’t field a full-strength team and battled through a physically demanding first half. Five players were cautioned in the opening 45 minutes for rough play. Neither side carved out many clear-cut chances in the opening period and neither scored.

For both teams, it was their first test against NASL-level competition this preseason.

The second half was much more fluid and featured all three goals.

Justin Chavez helped the Rowdies to their first goal of the match, chasing down a ball in Edmonton’s box and earning a penalty kick. Eddies defender Marko Aleksic thought he was alone, jogging toward a ball to clear it, but Chavez was just behind him, and when Aleksic swung his leg to clear the ball, he instead kicked Chavez’s body to concede the penalty.

Rowdies forward Georgi Hristov scored the penalty high into Edmonton’s net for a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead in the 65th minute.

The Rowdies ran into trouble in the 74th minute, when Edmonton played a long ball forward and caught Gale Agbossoumonde in a tough position. As he recovered, Agbossoumonde made too much contact with FCE’s Frank Jonke, conceding a penalty.

Eddies captain Ritchie Jones stepped up to take the penalty, but Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens guessed right and saved it to preserve Tampa Bay’s lead.

Just a minute later, Sadi Jalali got into space to take another shot on goal, but again, Pickens was in the right spot to make the save.

In the 84th minute, more pressure from the Rowdies forwards forced an error in Edmonton’s defense.

Tampa Bay forward Darwin Espinal put heavy pressure on the Eddies and intercepted a pass between defenders 30 yards from goal. Espinal squared a ball into empty space for Brian Shriver to run onto. Shriver took a couple of touches before slotting it past John Smits in net to put the Rowdies up 2-0.

The Rowdies were just minutes from keeping a clean sheet, but a Lance Laing free kick in stoppage time found Jonke for a header past Pickens and into the net.

Up next, the Rowdies remain in Jacksonville for a couple days of training before lining up against Jacksonville Armada FC at Everbank Field on Saturday evening at 5:30.

Caution Summary 

FC Edmonton: Cristian Raudales - 27th minute
Tampa Bay: Darnell King - 27th minute
FC Edmonton: Ritchie Jones - 30th minute
Tampa Bay: Juan Guerra - 32nd minute
Tampa Bay: Robert Hernandez - 33rd minute
Tampa Bay: Matt Pickens - 70th minute

Scoring Summary:

Tampa Bay: Georgi Hristov - 65th minute (Penalty Kick)
Tampa Bay: Brian Shriver - 84th minute
FC Edmonton: Frank Jonke - 91st minute

Starting Lineups:

Rowdies (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens (C); D Darnell King (Zak Boggs 46'), Brad Rusin, Gale Agbossoumonde, Ben Sweat; M Justin Chavez, Juan Guerra, Martin Nuñez; F Brian Shriver, Jeff Michaud (Georgi Hristov 61'), Robert Hernandez (Darwin Espinal 46')

Edmonton (4-5-1): GK Matt VanOekel (John Smits 61'); D Eddie Edward (Johann Smith 87'), Kareem Moses (Mallan Roberts 87'), Mallan Roberts (Marko Aleksic 61'), Johann Smith (Allan Zebie 61'); M Cristian Raudales, Oskar Hauksson (Chad Burt 61'), Ritchie Jones, Daryl Fordyce (Jalali Sadi 61'), Lance Laing; F Tomi Ameobi (Frank Jonke 61')