by JAKE NUTTING

The Tampa Bay Rowdies showed no signs of discouragement after last week’s heartbreaking loss in New York, turning around quickly to dispatch Minnesota United FC on the road with an assertive 2-0 result, thanks to a goal and an assist from Joe Cole.

Apart from Georgi Hristov getting a rare start up top to replace the injured Tommy Heinemann, the starting lineup remained the same for the Rowdies this week.

With serious Spring Season implications on the line for them, Minnesota had more to play for on Saturday, but the Rowdies were the ones who showed they were hungrier on every fifty-ball and disrupted the normally high-flying Loons with a strong, physical play in every area of the field. Urgency and purpose were on display from the Rowdies on both sides of the ball from the outset.

The only scare for the Rowdies in the first half came in the 19th minute when Jamie Watson was left unchecked in the center of the box on a counter, but he lifted his first touch well over the bar.

After keeping the Loons at bay throughout the first half, the Rowdies finally managed to capitalize on their good form with a go-ahead goal in the 43rd minute. Juan Guerra did well to dispossess Stefano Pinho and delivered a perfectly-weighted chip to Kalif Alhassan on the left side of the box. With room to operate, Alhassan pushed the ball toward the endline and outpaced Kevin Venegas to get to it and sent it in front of goal for the head of Cole. Not a single defender was within two yards of the midfielder, so he had total freedom to comfortably notch his first goal in a Rowdies shirt.

Before Minnesota had a chance to put any of their halftime adjustments into practice, the Rowdies landed another blow in the 47th minute. This time Cole played set up man, streaking by two defenders with great composure on the ball before threading a through ball for Eric Avila. The attacker waited for the ball to roll into place before deftly ripping a shot to the far post past a flat-footed Sammy Ndjock.

Tampa Bay’s Matt Pickens faced his first challenge of the night in the 64th minute after a clever sequence inside the box from Minnesota. Ibson left a nifty backheel for Christian Ramirez, who ripped the ball across goal for JC Banks to redirect onto frame with a powerful first touch. Pickens was in excellent position to make the reflex save and also ended up clearing the rebound when he sprinted toward the left edge of the box to beat Pinho to the ball.

That moment ended up being the most clear cut chance of the night for Minnesota. They did develop some more quality buildups through impressive passing, but they were caught offside both times.

Michael Nanchoff nearly extended the lead to three in 81st minute with a 20-yard free kick that slipped by the edge of the wall and required an outstanding diving save from Ndjock.

Shortly after that chance the Rowdies received their first setback of the night. Left back Zac Portillos went down on a non-contact injury that had him down on the ground for several minutes. Unable to continue, Portillos was taken off and replaced with Walter Ramirez.

The Loons continued to pushed hard for something to take from the match in the final minutes. They forced Pickens to make a few more saves, though all of them looked like easy scoops for the veteran to make on the way to his fourth clean sheet of the year.

Knocking off the Loons keeps the Rowdies Spring Season hopes alive for another week, though that dream is looking incredibly unlikely given New York’s six-point lead heading into the final weeks. More importantly, though, the win gives the team a much-needed confidence boost heading into Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup match against FC Cincinnati.