ST. PETERSBURG — For the second straight Saturday, the Rowdies suffered a setback at home, and this time, not even Freddy Adu could save them.
Coming on as a 75th-minute substitute for his Rowdies debut and with Tampa Bay trailing 2-0, Adu found the foot of Maicon Santos with a cross in stoppage time and Santos scored to pull the Rowdies within one.
Moments later, Stefano Pinho iced it for Fort Lauderdale with an insurance goal for a 3-1 win.
"It was good to get out there, first game back after a while," said Adu, who gained national attention in 2004 as the youngest athlete (14) ever to sign a pro contract in the United States. "Obviously, we lost the game. We're pretty disappointed about that, but it's sort of bittersweet (for me) because the reception was so awesome."
On the kickoff after the Rowdies' goal, they gained possession again. Adu had a chance at the equalizer with a cross that earned the Rowdies (1-3-0) a corner. Santos got a header on it, but it was directed right at goalkeeper Josh Ford.
"We needed to get a goal, so we were throwing more people up," Adu said. "So I think we had more chances in the last 20 minutes than we did the rest of the game."
Up until Adu's entrance, the Tampa Bay offense had looked stagnant again. After back-to-back shutout losses to San Antonio and Edmonton, Rowdies coach Thomas Rongen shuffled things, putting Santos and Georgi Hristov in as starters. That change, however, didn't solve the team's offensive struggles.
"I can't even say we played bad," Hristov said, "but we lost the game."
The Strikers (1-0-3) had no issues on offense. PC one-timed in a pass from Marlon Freitas in the 16th minute, and Bruno Nunes scored in the 79th to make it 2-0.
The loss was the Rowdies' third straight. Three of Tampa Bay's next four matches are on the road, with the first coming Saturday in Carolina.
"Now we've got to go on the road and find a way to just grind something out," Rongen said. "It doesn't have to be pretty."