by JAKE NUTTING

The Tampa Bay Rowdies put in one of their strongest efforts of the season on Sunday night against the rival New York Cosmos. A positive start yielded them with the first lead any opponent has had in New York all year, but a quick rally late in the first half and some dramatics in the dying moments of the match sealed another victory for the Cosmos.

The Cosmos probed the Rowdies final third with five corner kicks in the first 10 minutes, but it was the Rowdies who dealt the first blow of the match.

Playing for the first time in the central playmaker role, Kalif Alhassan displayed persitance and vision in the 18th minute, shaking off challenges from defenders near the halfway line before slipping a pass into space for Tommy Heinemann to run onto. The forward took one touch before squeaking a shot by the foot of an onrushing Jimmy Maurer that took its sweet time rolling across the line for a goal.

It was the first time in the five matches this year that the Cosmos found themselves in a deficit in front of their home crowd.

They didn’t stay down for long, though. Juan Arango helped them surge back and level the match in the 32nd minute. An impressive passing sequence left the Venezuelan veteran in a one-on-one with Matt Pickens, and Arango wisely elected to slide a pass across the face of goal for Yasmani Duk to tap in for an uncontested finish.

Following the equalizer, the Rowdies were forced to deal with the early exit of Heinemann after he was knocked out with an injury. Last week’s starter Danny Mwanga came on to take his place.

Arango then initiated the go-ahead goal for New York in the 40th minute. The attacker perfectly chipped a pass to the far post for Ruben Bover, who buried the service into the net with an outstanding volley.

Proving once again that they play their best in the second half, the Rowdies came out of the break on the front foot to produce a comeback. They managed to dictate much of the closing 45 minutes, but true chances inside the final third were hard to come by until the final 10 minutes of the match.

The Rowdies seemingly tied the match in the 83rd minute when Mwanga guided a spectacular ball into the area by Joe Cole past Maurer, but it was waived off by what the replay clearly revealed to be a false offside flag.

Another sure-fire chance popped on the final sequence of the match in the third minute of stoppage time. Center back Tamika Mkandawire directed a header past a helpless Maurer that was set to level things up until Hunter Freeman made a stellar goal line clearance.

The final whistle blew a few seconds later and the Rowdies were left with nothing to show for an otherwise encouraging performance. Sitting seventh on the table with nine points at the close of the weekend, the odds of claiming the Spring Season title are looking dicey. They face a tough challenge next week at Minnesota, who are unbeaten at home this season.

IMAGE, STEVE HAMLIN/COSMOS COUNTRY PODCAST