ATLANTA — With one substantial late exception, there was not much spectacular about the Rowdies’ performance in a 2-0 victory at Atlanta United 2 on Wednesday night. But workmanlike wins and a resulting spot atop the USL Championship table will do just fine.
Tampa Bay’s third straight shutout, second consecutive on the road, elevated the Rowdies (5-0-2, 17 points) over Indy Eleven into the top position, with one less match played. And the Rowdies’ margin for Group H sits at a substantial nine points, with last-place Miami FC up next on Sunday at Al Lang Stadium.
“The most pleasing thing is the improvement,” said Rowdies coach Neill Collins. “This team is relatively new. They’re learning together, they’re trusting each other, they’re building relationships. I’m sure we’ll have our bumps and bruises along the way, but they’re certainly growing nicely.”
Despite big central defender Forrest Lasso suffering a notable shot to the eye, he was able to provide a 1-0 halftime lead, rising up to head in Lewis Hilton’s well-served corner kick in the 34th minute. It quickly followed the first-half hydration break, which seemed to replenish the Rowdies’ spirit.
Lasso was the victim of an inadvertent poke in the eye early on, sending him to the sideline for several minutes.
“It was concerning, because he was struggling to see out of it,” Collins said. “But we said one eye’s all you need to play. Credit to Forrest for staying on. His performance was excellent, along with the rest of the back line.”
Juan Tejada’s scintillating solo effort clinched matters in the 81st minute. The Eckerd College product received a quality through pass from Yann Ekra but found himself sandwiched behind two defenders and with no support. Tejada cut the ball back and, now with a third Atlanta player in his mix, loaded up a 20-yard curler inside the far right post.
Ekra, who has seen limited minutes this season due to injury, almost made it 3-0 later on a return pass from Tejada into the box, but his shot was stopped.
Tampa Bay held a 4-1 halftime shot advantage, based primarily off corner kicks. Lasso nearly scored a second header in three minutes, but Atlanta goalkeeper Ben Lundgaard dove to prevent the brace. On the last play of the half, Zach Steinberger, again on a Hilton left-footed service from the right corner, had a free header that went wide.
Apart from those set pieces, Atlanta (1-5-2) held the better of the possession, 61 percent in the first half, yet it rarely threatened. One notable exception was in the 18th minute, when Amadou Macky Diop got past Lasso on the right wing and found Phillip Goodrum unmarked 15 yards from goal, only to have Rowdies defender Jordan Scarlett close things down.
Tampa Bay’s starting forwards, Kyle Murphy and leader Sebastian Guenzatti, combined for one touch inside the Atlanta penalty box all night, and both were removed by the 67th minute.
“First 30 minutes, Atlanta was definitely the better team,” Collins said. “They outpossessed us, and we looked sluggish. The water break was a chance to make a bit of a change, and a set piece got us in the game. I thought we grew into (it) and grew in confidence, and I was pleased with the second-half performance.”
Collins inserted attack-minded Malik Johnson and Juan Tejada for the final 45 minutes and things perked up noticeably on both sides, with Rowdies keeper Evan Louro stopping a strong Goodrum effort in the 50th minute. Louro added a difficult stop midway through a nine-minute stoppage time to preserve the shutout.
Johnson nearly scored for a third straight match, only to have Lundgaard use his chest to block the bid, then stretching his left foot to keep out sub Ekra’s rebound.
The Rowdies were without second-leading scorer Leo Fernandez, who was injured last weekend against Miami. There will be some intrigue Sunday for the rematch (7:30 p.m. kickoff). Since then, Miami has dismissed coach Manny Vargas (0-3), replacing him with Paul Dalglish, who coached the Rowdies a decade ago in their initial reboot as FC Tampa Bay.
