skip navigation

Three Things: Atlanta 1 - 4 Rowdies

By Rowdies Communications, 04/25/19, 8:30AM EDT

Share

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 25, 2019) — The Tampa Bay Rowdies scored four unanswered goals Wednesday night to down Atlanta United 2 4-1 and climb to first place in the Championship’s Eastern Conference.

Here’s Three Things from the match…

1. Goals aplenty
After an early season scoring drought in which Tampa Bay scored four total goals in four matches, the Rowdies have now scored four goals in a match twice in their last three times out, beating Hartford Athletic 4-0 on April 6 and last night’s 4-1 win.

Efficiency was one of the Rowdies strengths last night with Tampa Bay scoring four goals from just three shots on target thanks in part to an Atlanta own goal forced by David Najem’s shot off the post. Tampa Bay was just more ruthless on the night than Atlanta. The Rowdies had only 43 percent possession and were outpassed by more than 100 passes, but the match never felt out of control.

Leo Fernandes tied the match just before halftime with his first goal of the season, finishing off the inside of the post with the outside of his boot. Najem’s shot put the Rowdies ahead in the 67th minute thanks to some help from Atlanta centerback George Campbell.

Late in the match, the Rowdies got a nice emotional boost as Juan Tejada scored his first professional goal in the 87th minute after a long night of hard work and Brandon Allen scored his first goal in Rowdies colors in the 90th minute to expand the gap to 4-1. Allen’s goal came 31 seconds after he entered the match off the bench.

2. Shuffled lineup
The Rowdies were off last weekend on a bye week, a weekend that cost them a couple of regular starters. Defender Shawn Barry and midfielder Yann Ekra picked up ankle injuries during training on back-to-back days Friday and Saturday that ultimately ruled them out of Wednesday’s match. Their status for Saturday’s game against Charlotte is undetermined.

Add in that Malik Johnson and Jamie Siaj remained sidelined by injuries that have kept them off the field all season and the Rowdies were four players short. Then consider that forward Antoine Hoppenot, who had started three consecutive games, was at home in St. Pete serving a one-game suspension and the Rowdies had just 19 players available for Wednesday night.

As a result, Neill Collins made three changes to his lineup. David Najem and Jordan Doherty each made their first starts of the year in midfield while Juan Tejada earned his second start at forward. The Rowdies didn’t miss a beat though, a good sign for the depth that Neill Collins has spoken so highly of already this season.

3. Fernandes on fire
Leo Fernandes put in another incredible performance Wednesday night, scoring once and assisting a pair of goals. He now leads the team with four assists this season, all of which have come this month. Fernandes has settled well into the left wingback role and is contributing at both ends. We won more than half his duels Wednesday night while also tallying three tackles, two interceptions and a clearance.