Rowdies Tie San Antonio 2-2 in Season Opener

The Tampa Bay Rowdies conceded twice in the final ten minutes of Saturday’s season opener to finish 2-2 in their matchup with San Antonio FC.

There was an electric atmosphere at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday. 7,500 fans came out to get their first look at the Rowdies in action under new head coach Robbie Neilson. In his first outing for the club, Neilson had to contend with a few key absences as Nick Moon, Freddy Kleemann, Zach Herivaux, and Charlie Dennis were all unavailable due to injury.

“There was some good, some bad against a very good team tonight,” said Neilson. “I believe San Antonio and we will both be in the playoffs come the end of the season. We knew it would be tough. They’re at full strength. We knew coming into this game we would have to be at our best. I thought we were at our best for the first 60, 70 minutes. Because of the injuries we didn’t really have the chance to make the changes we’d like to with the squad.”

Tampa Bay started on the front-foot of Saturday’s encounter, jumping ahead just four minutes into the match. Cal Jennings had the honor of notching the first goal of the season, nodding home a glancing header off of a corner kick delivery from newcomer Blake Bodily.

“The guys sending the ball in are always looking to put the ball in dangerous areas and it’s our job to cover the entire goal,” said Jennings. “Today that was my role. Blake served a great ball and I felt I made really good contact. It’s just about making the right amount of contact and putting the ball on frame.”

The Rowdies continued to hold the momentum throughout the rest of the first 45 minutes but could not double the lead before the halftime break. They finally found that second goal in the 72nd minute when wingback Pacifique Niyongabire pushed past a defender at the endline and sent a cross to the near post. Manuel Arteaga rewarded the effort with a nifty one-timed finish to beat the keeper.

San Antonio found their life line in the 83rd minute. Finding a window of space in the box, Bura Nogueira cut the lead in half with a shot past keeper Jordan Farr. The visitor’s eventually leveled things just as stoppage time was starting. After the Rowdies were unable to adequately clear a set piece sent into the box, San Antonio followed up with a shot that was blocked but fell favorably for a follow up finish by Carter Manley.

“We just need to be smarter,” said midfielder Blake Bodily. “That’s not acceptable. We just need to learn to manage the game better, come together more as a team at the end even if we’re tired because dropping two goals at the end is not good enough for us.”

Next up, the Rowdies hit the road for the first time this year to face North Carolina FC next Saturday at 7 pm ET.