Rowdies get 3-0 victory in St. Louis

A goal before halftime by Pascal Millien and goals after the break by Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe and Long Tan gave the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies a 3-0 victory against AC St. Louis at A-B Soccer Park on Saturday night.

Each player's goal was his first for the club as the Rowdies picked up a second victory, taking seven of a possible nine points, from their three-game road trip.

"It's a great win, a great win," Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish said. "It's a great achievement to have so many games on the road and to be able to be sitting somewhere near the top of the table."

The Rowdies survived an early scare, with a St. Louis goal being called back for offsides, but then Tampa Bay began to take control of the game, moving the ball well in defense and midfield and making the St. Louis players chase the game.

The Rowdies (3-1-3) could have taken the lead twice off set pieces, with a pair of headers missing the target, but former University of Tampa All-American Millien made no mistake in the 38th minute as he scored after a nice piece of work by Tan.

St. Louis' situation got worse shortly after when it was reduced to 10 men, center back Tim Velten being ejected after pulling down Rowdies forward Aaron Wheeler just outside the penalty area as the forward was bearing down on goal.

Millien provided Tan with a chance of his own to add to the Rowdies' lead early in the second half, slipping a pass through to the Chinese attacker, but Tan's shot was saved.

Despite being down a man, St. Louis (1-6-1) had some dangerous threats in the second half, but the Rowdies' defense did enough to preserve the team's second shutout - its first since their season opener.

Then in the 64th minute Adjeman-Pamboe made a run into the right channel and latched onto a perfect pass by Takuya Yamada. Adjeman-Pamboe set himself up well with a deft first touch and fired low past Alec Duffy for a 2-0 lead.

"His first touch when (Adjeman-Pamboe) received it was absolutely top-drawer," Dalglish said. "It was the touch that enabled him to make the finish."

Tan found the score sheet in the 88th minute, converting from the penalty spot after he had been pulled down in the penalty area.