Miles Robinson scored a game-tying goal in second-half stoppage time to help a 10-man Atlanta United 2 tie Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-1 Wednesday night at Coolray Field.
ATL UTD 2 trailed 1-0 when Andrew Kendall-Moullin was shown a red card in the 90+2’ minute for fouling Junior Flemmings after he appeared to be in on goal. A minute later, Devon Sandoval was fouled on the left side of the field, roughly 20 yards outside of the penalty area. Homegrown Andrew Carleton lobbed the free kick toward the back post where a Tampa defender attempted to head the ball out, but it fell to the feet of Robinson. Standing on the edge of the six-yard-box, the 21-year-old center back slotted the ball into the back of the net with his left foot to tie the match and earn Atlanta a point. It was Robinson’s first goal of the year.
Tampa scored its lone goal in the 68th minute. A goal kick from Daniel Vega bounced behind Atlanta’s defense where Sebastian Guenzatti ran down the ball and scored with a low right-footed shot into the bottom left corner.
Atlanta produced 13 shots and put six on target, including a pair from strikers Rodolfo, who made his first start with ATL UTD 2, and Academy product Jackson Conway. Rodolfo nearly put Atlanta ahead in the second minute when a cross from Carleton took a deflection and floated in the air for the Brazilian to strike with his left, however it was hit right at Vega.
Conway had a number of good scoring-opportunities, most notably when he pressed Tampa’s defense in the first half. The 16-year-old forced a back pass to Vega, rushed the goalkeeper and intercepted his attempted pass. Conway tried to round Vega for an open-net goal, but he was able to poke the ball away at the last second.
Goalkeeper Paul Christensen made five saves and came up with his biggest of the night in the 61st minute. Dominic Oduro intercepted a pass in the midfield and sprinted into the box for a one-on-one opportunity. Christensen rushed off his line, made himself big and denied Oduro’s shot with his left hand.
ATL UTD 2 (5-17-9, 24 points) returns to action Sunday, Oct. 7 against Charleston Battery at 7:00 p.m. EST at Coolray Field. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
