Joe Cole scored his fourth goal of the season Saturday night as the Rowdies settled for a 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos at Al Lang Stadium.
A defensive gaff cost the Rowdies (6-5-3, 23 points) a goal just five minutes into the match, but Cole answered quickly, putting in a Marcel Schäfer cross in the 19th minute.
“We started the game extremely well and then we made a bad mistake, which led to their first goal,” Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. “That happens, but then the guys responded. In the first half, I thought we were excellent and when we play as well as that, we have to go on and win the game. We have to put the game to bed.”
Rochester (4-5-1, 17 points) scored when Rhinos forward Jochen Graf got by Rowdies center back Neill Collins and put a shot off goalie Matt Pickens and in.
“We didn’t take our chances right at the end,” Cole said. “We’ve got to work on that. It’s not something new we’re facing. We need to be better at breaking teams down. … Our goal came from a good passing move and Marcel put in a great ball, so we’ve got to do more of that.”
Pickens made five saves on the night.
Tampa Bay now heads on the road for three-straight road matches, visiting Richmond, Pittsburgh and Charleston in the next three weeks before returning home to host FC Cincinnati on July 6.