HARRISBURG, Pa. – Georgi Hristov scored a pair of goals as the Tampa Bay Rowdies took a 3-2 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders on Wednesday night at FNB Field. Neither side created much offensively early, with a low shot by Harrisburg’s Jonny Mendoza that was comfortably saved by Rowdies goalkeeper Matt Pickens the first serious effort on goal in the 14th minute. The City Islanders took the lead in the 31st minute as Lee Nishanian put home a corner from the left by Mendoza to break a 616-minute scoreless streak, which set off a flurry of goals before the halftime break. The Rowdies leveled five minutes later, as after a corner was half-cleared the hosts kept the play alive and a sliced cross by Justin Chavez picked out Georgi Hristov for his ninth goal of the season. Martin Paterson then gave Tampa Bay the lead in the 38th minute with an excellent curling finish that picked out the right corner from 20 yards out, but Harrisburg leveled in the final minute before the break as a long-range shot by Pedro Ribeiro deflected off Ropapa Mensah at the top of the penalty area, leaving Pickens flatfooted as the ball found the left corner. Tampa Bay almost regained the lead 11 minutes into the second half when a free header for Paterson was saved by Miller, but the Rowdies were awarded a penalty kick when Alex Morrell was brought down in the area, and Hristov converted to the left corner midway through the second half. Morrell almost added to the lead in the 72nd minute, only to be denied by a good save from Miller, and the City Islanders goalkeeper made a pair of big saves from Joe Cole and then on the rebound from Walter Restrepo to keep it a one-goal game with 10 minutes to go. Restrepo also sent a golden chance wide with six minutes to go after a good low cross by Hristov, but the missed opportunities didn’t come back to haunt Tampa Bay as it held on to take victory.

Scoring:
31’ – HAR – Lee Nishanian (Jonny Mendoza)
36’ – TBR – Georgi Hristov (Justin Chavez)
38’ – TBR – Martin Paterson (Marcel Schäfer)
45’ – HAR – Ropapa Mensah (Pedro Ribeiro)
68’ – TBR – Georgi Hristov (penalty)

• #HARvTBR: Full Match and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. As poor as the club’s road record has been this season, this was a big win for the Tampa Bay Rowdies to get things moving in the right direction again after a three-game winless streak had seen the club drop out of the top four in the Eastern Conference. There are still things that need to be worked on, Tampa Bay wasn’t sharp for the full game and allowed Harrisburg chances to take something from the contest, and the Rowdies’ finishing should have put the game out of question sooner after it regained the lead in the second half, but a second road win is very welcome as the team prepares to head home.

• 2. The City Islanders looked the better side before the hosts took the lead in the 31st minute, which broke a 616-minute scoreless streak that dated back to Harrisburg’s game with the Charlotte Independence on July 18, but the immediate surrender of two goals in three minutes quickly sent the side back to battling to get something from the contest. A positive break on their second goal offered some hope, but as many shots as the City Islanders’ mustered, they didn’t threaten as much as the Rowdies did after the break, which left the playoffs an even more distant hope.

• 3. Tampa Bay will return home ahead of schedule after Wednesday’s postponement of the final scheduled game of their road trip on Saturday against Bethlehem Steel FC, and now won’t return to action until it hosts the Charlotte Independence on September 23. Hopefully that time will allow the side to focus on its personal affairs with the potential arrival of Hurricane Irma in the coming days, and allow the side to be able to refocus on the field when the time comes in two weeks.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Georgi Hristov, Tampa Bay Rowdies – Hristov scored twice, including the game-winner from the penalty spot, and was active in the attacking third as he created two other scoring chances in an important road win for the Rowdies.

Upcoming Games:
Harrisburg City Islanders at Saint Louis FC – September 9, 8:30 p.m. ET, Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Charlotte Independence – September 23, 7:30 p.m. ET, Al Lang Stadium