Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Edmonton Battle to a 1-1 Tie

ST. PETERSBURG – The Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Edmonton split the points at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night with a 1-1 draw.

Chad Burt scored for Edmonton in the 43rd minute to give the Eddies a road lead. Neil Hlavaty’s initial shot was saved by Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens, but the rebound bounced directly to Burt, who kicked it home from about 10 yards out to give the Eddies a lead just before halftime. Georgi Hristov equalized from the penalty spot in the 68th minute to break a 268 minute scoreless streak.

Burt is a St. Petersburg native and played for the Rowdies in 2010 and 2011.

“Today was very important and we needed a three point result,” Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said. “To not get the three points is disappointing, first and foremost. To concede the first goal again is disappointing in the manner of how we conceded it. We’ve gotten into reasonable situations and we just haven’t been clinical enough or composed enough at times. I’m disappointed for our fans because we want to give them three points every time they come out to support us because they support us so well.”

The Rowdies started the match aggressively, dominated much of the first half with a forward-thinking 4-3-3 formation determined to put pressure on Eddies goalkeeper Lance Parker. New Rowdies forward Corey Hertzog led the attack, playing as the center forward in his Green and Gold debut, flanked on either side by Hristov and Casey Townsend, who swapped wings at will.

Tampa Bay midfielder Keith Savage nearly opened the scoring in the second minute, but his shot went just wide of Parker’s left-hand post.

Edmonton’s best early chance came off a throw-in in the 17th minute when Tomi Ameobi chested the ball up to set up for a shot, but Pickens left his line quickly to break up the play.

The Rowdies answered two minutes later with a chance of their own as Townsend cleverly turned on a ball and moved toward goal, but his shot from the outside of his boot was well over Parker’s crossbar.

In the 26th minute, a Hristov free kick from 23 yards out nearly gave the Rowdies a 1-0 advantage, but Parker dove to make the save at his near post to keep Tampa Bay off the scoreboard.

Edmonton’s goal came just before halftime, but the Rowdies again started aggressively in the second half.

Hill made a pair of aggressive substitutions in the 65th minute, with forward Brian Shriver and attacking midfielder Evans Frimpong both entering the match in search of a quick goal.

Two minutes later, a ball into the box saw Eddies defender Kareem Moses whistled for a foul on Willie Hunt to give the Rowdies a penalty kick. Hristov shot to the left for his seventh goal of the season to pull the Rowdies level in the 68th minute.

Forward Luciano Olguin entered the match for the Rowdies in the 83rd minute as the Rowdies continued to push for a match-winning goal.

“We put on a team full of offensive players and I was hoping that something would happen and we would get a little magic from someone maybe,” Hill said. “We needed a little quality in the final third, but we were a little bit impatient at times.”

Edmonton midfielder Eddie Edward was shown his second yellow card of the match in the 90th minute for a foul on Hristov, but the Rowdies didn’t have enough time to capitalize, with the match ending 1-1.

The Rowdies now move forward quickly with the rival Fort Lauderdale Strikers in townWednesday night to play the Coastal Cup decider at Al Lang Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call (877) ROWDIES or click here. 

Scoring Summary 
FC Edmonton: Chad Burt - 43rd minute
Tampa Bay: Georgi Hristov- 68th minute (Penalty)

Caution Summary
Tampa Bay: Matt Pickens- 63rd minute
Tampa Bay: Darel Russell- 63rd minute 
FC Edmonton: Eddie Edward- 63rd minute
FC Edmonton: Eddie Edward- 90th minute (Red Card)

Starting Lineups

Rowdies XI (4-3-3): GK Matt Pickens; D Jordan Gafa, Willie Hunt, Tamika Mkandawire (c), Anthony Wallace; M Keith Savage (Luciano Olguin 83') , Darel Russell, Blake Wagner (Evans Frimpong 65'); F Casey Townsend (Brian Shriver 65'), Corey Hertzog, Georgi Hristov

FC Edmonton XI (4-4-1-1): GK Lance Parker; D Beto Navarro, Albert Watson (c), Mallan Roberts, Kareem Moses (Ritchie Jones 72'); M Horace James, Neil Hlavaty, Eddie Edward, Lance Laing; M Chad Burt(Hanson Boakai 88') ; F Tomi Ameobi (Daryl Fordyce 85')