The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were able to get by the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium and captured the Florida Derby which is competed between both clubs. It was the second straight year that the Strikers won the head-to-head series after losing the previous four seasons to the cross-state rival Rowdies. Fort Lauderdale ended up with a 2-1 edge in games and an aggregate lead in goals of 5-3.
The Coastal Cup which had been battled for by both teams over the last five years with not be decided for a couple of months. The Jacksonville Armada were added to the equation in 2015 and the Strikers have two games slated with the Armada in the NASL fall season while the Rowdies have one games left on the road in Jacksonville.
All the scoring in this contest was done during the first half of play. Fort Lauderdale(2-2-4) struck quickly in the fourth minute when forward Stefano Pinho took advantage of a Rowdies turnover. He turned and lifted a 24-yard shot with his left foot into the top left corner of the net to give the Strikers a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay(2-4-1) evened it up at 1-1 during the 19th minute. Midfielder Georgi Hristov send a free kick into the penalty area from the right side and forward Maicon Santos connected with a shot from five yards away to beat Strikers goalkeeper Josh Ford.
The Strikers regained the lead and got the game-winning score in the 43rd minute. Midfielder Walter Ramirez took a free kick from the edge of the penalty area on the right side. Rowdies goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky made the initial save, however midfielder James Marcelin pounced on the rebound and scored from four yards out.
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