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USL Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rowdies Open Cup Quest Ends in Orlando

April 21, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release


ORLANDO, FL - The Tampa Bay Rowdies put in a hard-fought performance against in-state rival Orlando City SC in Wednesday's Third Round U.S. Open Cup bout. After controlling much of the opening half at Orlando's Exploria Stadium, the Rowdies fell behind early in the second half and could never close the gap and ultimately fell 2-1.

"For me, the effort was there as we'd obviously expect, but for me it was more about the quality," said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. "The quality we played with was excellent. I'm just so disappointed for the boys. I don't think they got what we deserved tonight, partly down to their quality and a couple of our mistakes but really they did a fantastic job in terms of how we wanted to play against a top level opponent."

Tampa Bay threatened from the opening minutes. Wingback Dayonn Harris drove a dangerous cross in from the edge of the box which connected with the head of Rowdies captain Sebastian Guenzatti, who guided his header on frame but was denied by a possible handball by an Orlando defender. The Rowdies certainly protested but no whistle came.

"We started off the game and I thought we should have had a penalty from a handball on Seba Guenzatti's header that was going on goal," said Collins. "I thought the night kind of went like that. No matter what we did we seemed to get road blocked with a couple of decisions."

The Rowdies continued to press their hosts for much of the first half and only lacked the final touch in front of goal. Forward Steevan Dos Santos looked for the goal with two strikes as the opening 45 minutes wound down. His first attempt was a low strike from 20 yards out, which sailed a yard to the left of goal. Just a few minutes later, Dos Santos penetrated the box and powered a shot toward goal that was denied by a sliding challenge. Dos Santos also picked up a knock in the aftermath of that sliding challenge and had to limp back into the locker room.

When the Rowdies returned from halftime, Dos Santos had been swapped out for forward Lucky Mkosana.

The Rowdies found themselves behind just seven minutes into the second half. In the 52nd minute, a whistle came against center back Aaron Guillen for a tug on the jersey of Orlando's Benji Michel. Alexandre Pato then converted past keepe Raiko Arozarena with a strike placed to the left.

Tampa Bay's deficit doubled in the 63rd minute when a lofted cross into the box found its way to Júnior Urso, who slotted the ball into the net with his first touch.

Mkosana kept hope alive for the Rowdies just two minutes later. Midfielder Leo Fernandes initiated the scoring sequence by dancing his way into the box and playing a pass into space for Guenzatti, who drilled a cross toward the center of the box. No whistle came but fortunately it wasn't needed as Mkosana slid in to bury the loose ball into the back of the net.

The Rowdies pushed for an equalizer but could not quite get another quality look at goal again. As stoppage time was set to start, Collins wound up being ejected from the game after entering the field of play to return the ball to the area where the Rowdies were trying to set up a free kick before an Orlando player kicked it away. Collins received a straight red card for this infraction, after already receiving a delayed yellow card at the start of the second half for another infraction during the first half.

"In terms of my red card, I shouldn't have entered the field of play," said Collins. "... I'm really just focused on our performance tonight and the quality our boys produced against a very good side who played their top level players. Lots of positives to build on. I wish we could have given the fans the result. I thought we gave them the performance. I'd have liked to have given them the result. They deserved that for the performance in the stands. They should be really proud of the boys and now it's up to us to take this performance and keep winning points in the league."

Next up, the Rowdies head to New Jersey this Saturday to face New York Red Bulls II for a matinee matchup at 1pm ET. They remain on the road to take on Memphis 901 FC before returning to Al Lang next Saturday, April 30 to host San Diego Loyal FC. Tickets for the match can be purchased here or by calling the Rowdies ticket office at 727-222-2000.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 21, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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