Minnesota United FC downed the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-0 on a warm Wednesday night game with goals from Ben Speas and Christian Ramirez.

Minnesota United FC welcomed the Tampa Bay Rowdies hoping to break a run of bad play for the Loons, who were winless in four matches. Tampa Bay looked to recover from a 3-2 loss to the New York Cosmos, a match in which the Rowdies gave away a 14-minute 2-0 lead. The visitors were missing Darnell King, serving suspension. Former Minnesota man Kalif Alhassan failed to earn even a bench spot, as well as Freddy Adu.

Lineups

Coming off a short week and with a quick turnaround to the next match, Minnesota shuffled some players around, starting Jamie Watson on the right wing with Aaron Pitchkolan and Damion Lowe in defense.

Tampa Bay shook up their roster, changing both shape and players from their 3-2 loss to New York. Justin Chavez slotted in for the suspended Darnell King, while Joe Cole and Tom Heinemann started on the bench.

 

First Half

From the outset, the tactics to start the match were clear. Minnesota focused on possession and moving forward in numbers, while Tampa Bay pressured the ball in its own half and looked to counterattack with speed. The heavy press caused Tampa to commit several fouls early in the match and defensive midfielder Juan Guerra was shown a yellow card in the 14th minute for his second foul on Ben Speas in as many minutes.

Just four minutes later, Tampa Bay defender Walter Ramirez attempted a pass across his 18-yard box, but it was intercepted by Ben Speas. Speas took a controlling touch and slotted his shot past Matt Pickens into the lower right corner of the net. It was Minnesota’s first goal in 288 minutes, not including an own-goal from Puerto Rico.

After the goal, Tampa Bay began coming forward in an effort to equalize. The Rowdies earned several half-chances, but opened up to attacks from the hosts as well. Christian Ramirez and Justin Davis were both sent through by long balls, but Davis overran the pass and Ramirez was flagged offside. Tampa Bay’s best two chances were a scuffed shot by Carlos Preciado and a long blast by PC that hit the crossbar.

The Rowdies continued to pressure; Preciado got on the end of a low cross, but his shot was wide. Another long shot was easily collected by Sammy Ndjock. By the end of the first 45, the roles had reversed: Minnesota was sitting back to defend and counter while Tampa Bay controlled the possession and pushed for an equalizer. Neither team found a way through and the teams entered the break with the same 1-0 scoreline.

Second Half

Both teams made a change to start the second half. Joe Cole came on for Juan Guerra in the Rowdies midfield, while Juliano Vicentini made room for Jack Blake for the Loons. Minnesota and Tampa Bay traded shots to start the half — Joe Cole had a shot blocked in the six-yard box and Ramirez took a long blast from outside the penalty area that went high. More goals seemed inevitable, the only question was which side would break through.

The teams continued trading chances; Ndjock made a save on a Georgi Hristov shot and Ismaila Jome’s header went wide. The breakthrough came in the 62nd minute and it too came off a defensive error from the Rowdies. After intercepting a Minnesota throw-in near the end line, Stefan Antonijevic’s bobbled pass was grabbed by Speas. Speas sent a low cross across the six-yard box. Aaron Pitchkolan was there to tip the ball towards the net, and Christian Ramirez took one more touch to cement the goal. The Loons’ pressing gave them a two-goal lead.

Tampa Bay had two more shots saved: Keith Savage took a hard shot off a volley that Ndjock grabbed, while Preciado’s turf-burner was blocked by Pitchkolan. Later Preciado went on a mazy run, but mis-timed his shot and it slowly rolled away. Tampa Bay brought Tommy Heinemann on for Hristov. Joe Cole was shown yellow, but made up for it by drawing a foul from Jack Blake at midfield. Blake slid into Cole late from behind and was shown a straight red for the offense.

Despite a few more chances, Tampa Bay failed to solve Ndjock and the 2-0 scoreline stood at full time. Minnesota’s three points see them level with New York Cosmos on the fall table (Cosmos have a game in hand). It also moves them towards the top three of the combined table, though all three teams ahead of the Loons (Indy, Edmonton, and New York) have at least one game in hand over Minnesota.

Post-Game Quotes

“The guys knew [a win] was coming,” said Pitchkolan after the match. “We hadn’t played great, but we hadn’t done terribly. I think we were unlucky to drop some points here and there…We know what we want to do, we know what we want to achieve at the end of the year.”

Coach Carl Craig referred to the win as a grind, though saying the match was “a bit nervy at times.” He specifically praised Ibson for his efforts on the night. “[Ibson] had one of his best games for us…We know he can play football, but from a defensive perspective at times, he’s been a little bit careless. Tonight he was first class and I thought he was a springboard for us.”

“Pitch was tremendous, Dam[ion] Lowe’s full of confidence,” continued Craig as he heaped praise on his back line. “Jeb Brovsky, he was not the kind of right back I was really looking for when we brought him in, but [he was] solid, absolute quality,  [He is] a quality man, and he’s a quality footballer, and he made a heck of a difference for us on that back line.”

Craig revealed Vicentini was substituted due to a lack of fitness. When asked about Blake’s red card he said “I’d have given a yellow, but it’s my team, right?” with a jovial tone. He spoke of the importance for Ndjock to keep his head in the game, and praised the keeper for making the saves and earning a clean sheet.

Minnesota’s next match is on Saturday; the Loons travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Armada. Kick off is at 1:30 p.m. (CT).