(NASL 2014 Spring) Tampa Bay Rowdies 0v3 New York Cosmos

Saturday 17th May 2014
Al Lang Stadium, St Petersburg   Attendance -  4,855

Cosmos kept up their challenge for the Spring Season Championship with a 3v0 win in Tampa, thanks to 3 goals in a 15mins spell at the start of the 2nd half. The Rowdies contributed to their downfall with the 2nd and 3rd Cosmos goals coming from defensive mistakes that leave the Rowdies with just 1 win from 6 games.

Cosmos just shaded a tight first half, with both sides struggling to score it was little surprise to see the game scoreless at half time, with only a long range piledriver from Hunter Freeman and a few loose balls in the Cosmos box threatening to break the deadlock.

But Cosmos settled the game in a 15min spell early in the 2nd half, the first coming from Stokkelien, who won  an aerial challenge from a long ball, and with no support had the presence of mind to get to the rebound before Rowdies  substitute Keeper Ryan Thompson, who replaced the injured Matt Pickens early in the game.

Stokkelien poked the ball past Thompson to give Cosmos the lead, but before Rowdies could gather their thoughts they found themselves 2 down.

A bad Rowdies backpass to Thompson invited Pedro Mendes to chase for the ball and the Referee adjudged Mendes to have been fouled by the onrushing Thompson just outside the Rowdies area. With the Rowdies expecting an effort from Marcos Senna from the free kick, Ayoze stepped up to curl the ball past Thompson for his second of the season and Cosmos' 2nd of the evening.

Rowdies faced an uphill task to comeback against a Cosmos defence that had only conceded 2 goals so far all season, and the game was effectively put to bed after another horrendous piece of defending from Rowdies. Needham should have dealt with a routine long ball from Cosmos, but he delayed too long and Pedro Mendes nipped in to slot the ball past Thompson.

Rowdies introduced Lucky to good effect, which prompted a switch from firing hopeful long balls at the Cosmos defence to a more effective strategy, but despite his best efforts there was no consolation goal, the closest effort being a Girorgios header that went narrowly wide from a Lucky cross.