ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Matheus Oliveira scored in second-half stoppage time to earn the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 2-2 draw against the Charleston Battery at Al Lang Stadium on Wednesday night, rallying the hosts after the Battery had scored twice in the second half as the Rowdies extended their undefeated streak to 15 games across all competitions.
After lightning and heavy rain delayed kickoff by almost two hours and a quiet initial 25 minutes, the Rowdies took the lead on the half-hour mark when Dion Acoff led a counterattack following a Battery corner kick. The defender powered forward but had his shot blocked and the end of his run, only for the ball to come to Louis Perez, whose finish from the top-right edge of the penalty area picked out the top-left corner of the net.
The Battery almost equalized nine minutes before the break when Miguel Berry found space for a shot that hit the right post and caromed away to safety, but the visitors pulled level 10 minutes into the second half when Maalique Foster was on hand to finish from close range off a cross from the right by Douglas Martinez Jr. Then, with nine minutes to go, Charleston took the lead as Miguel Berry’s shot from outside the penalty area deflected off Swan and found the back of the net, wrongfooting Rowdies goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
The Rowdies leveled in stoppage time, however, as Charlie Ostrem picked up possession on the left and cut inside before picking out a low pass to Oliveira as he arrived at the top of the penalty area for a shot to the left corner, earning a share of the points.
Takeaways
Tampa Bay Rowdies – The Rowdies were forced to dig out of a deficit for the first time this season but came through with a tremendous late equalizer by Matheus Oliveira to extend their undefeated streak to 15 games to start the current season. Oliveira’s late goal gave him four goal contributions in his past four USL Championship appearances, coming through with a crucial goal to extend the side’s lead at the top of the Players’ Shield race.
Charleston Battery – The Battery didn’t achieve a lot of penetration in attack but made the most of their opportunities to take a second-half lead, only to let what would have been a big three points slip away at the last. Charleston recorded only four shots inside the penalty area but matched the Rowdies with five shots on target as the combination of Berry and Swan came through, albeit in fortunate fashion.