Late Goal by Rowdies' Georgi Hristov Dooms Eleven to Another tough Loss in Front of Sold Out Crowd
July 19, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Indy Eleven News Release
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 19, 2014) - Indy Eleven and the Tampa Bay Rowdies exchanged back-and-forth blows at the end of the first half, but it was Rowdies forward Georgi Hristov delivering the decisive blow late in the second stanza, as his tally gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 victory in front of a sold out crowd of 10,555 at IUPUI's Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Indy Eleven would score the game's first tally on a wonder-strike by midfielder Kleberson in the 38th minute, which was quickly countered by Rowdies forward Casey Townsend's finish in the 43rd minute.
Tampa Bay came out with the better of the play to open up, but both sides seemed intent to keep play in midfield without chancing much in back. Indy Eleven's first near-net opportunity came in the 26th minute on a long ball by midfielder Blake Smith, who sent a cross over the middle to forward Ben Spencer. The tall striker set up for a bicycle kick at the top of the area, but the shot was blocked by the face of Tampa Bay defender Tamika Mkandawire as the ball left Spencer's foot.
On the ensuing possession, the Rowdies responded with their own chance to take the lead. Attacking the right side of the box, forward Hristov placed a shot that just sailed high over the head of Indy 'keeper Kristian Nicht, keeping the match scoreless.
In the 38th minute, Indy would find the back of the net through its star midfielder Kleberson. Smith deftly headed a cross by Kleberson with a laid off header back out to the Brazilian, who took the return ball on a one-hop volley and fired it into the lower left corner of goal. The finish was Kleberson's fourth on the year - and his first from the run of play after three spot kick conversions during the Spring Season.
But Rowdies quickly responded in the 43rd minute. A shot by midfielder Darel Russell found its way behind Nicht but bounced off the left post. However, Townsend was able to clean up the play and find his second goal of the year on an empty net, leveling the score 1-1 going into the locker room at halftime.
Indy Eleven opened up the second half of play searching vigorously for their go-ahead goal. In the 53^rd minute, a cross from Smith to a streaking Victor Pineda gave the Eleven what looked to be a quality chance, only to see Pineda whistled offside. In the 73^rd minute of the match, Indy Eleven midfield newcomer Sergio Pena made his NASL debut for the squad subbing on for Pineda.
After both sides would see solid chances go wanting, the deciding factor came in the 89^th minute of the match. A low cross by forward Brian Shriver was met by a streaking Hristov, who sent home a classy first-time finish off the underside of the crossbar and into goal to give the Rowdies the go-ahead goal in the dwindling minutes of the game.
Indy Eleven will hit the road during Week 3 of NASL Fall Season action next Sunday, July 27, for its first trip to Canada to take on FC Edmonton for a 4:00 p.m. ET kickoff. The previous day, Tampa Bay will return home to entertain the San Antonio Scorpions for a 7:30 p.m. start at Al Lang Stadium.
TAMPA BAY ROWDIES HEAD COACH RICKY HILL
On the result: "We're delighted to come away with all three points. This is a fantastic atmosphere and Indy gave it a real go in the second half. Credit to our back four and the whole team for the shape that we managed to keep for the whole game. We created one or two clean-cut chances that we weren't able to convert. The substitutes came on ready to play and had an impact straight away."
INDY ELEVEN HEAD COACH JUERGEN SOMMER
On the match: "I thought in the second half that we looked very bright. We created some great scoring opportunities and a few good set pieces. We were unlucky to not be able to convert one of those."
On Kleberson's goal: "He really took the game on his shoulders in the first half by creating his own opportunity and he finished extremely well. Going into the second half, some of the deliveries that he had to our front-runners were great. He put the ball where it needed to be plenty of times. Unfortunately, we weren't able to put it in the back of the net."
On home debuts of Victor Pineda and Sergio Pena: "Nice to see (Victor) get a warm reception at home. I thought he started a little slower today than he did in Carolina and as we saw the way they were shaping up with substitutions late in the game, we wanted to give Kleberson more help defensively in the midfield so that is why we brought Sergio on. I thought Sergio played extremely well for the 30 minutes he played tonight. "
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North American Soccer League Stories from July 19, 2014
- Scorpions Win and Move into 1st Place in the NASL Fall Season Table - San Antonio Scorpions
- Minnesota United Stuns Premier League Side Swansea City in Historic International Friendly in Front - Minnesota United FC
- Strikers Lose in San Antonio 2-0 - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- NASL Fall Season Week 2: San Antonio and Tampa Bay Keep Pace with Minnesota United FC in Early Fall - NASL
- Late Heroics from Hristov Gives Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 Victory - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Late Goal by Rowdies' Georgi Hristov Dooms Eleven to Another tough Loss in Front of Sold Out Crowd - Indy Eleven
- Silverbacks Top FC Edmonton 1-0 in Wynalda's Final Game on Bench - Atlanta Silverbacks
- FC Edmonton Leave All Three Points in Atlanta - FC Edmonton
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