During the first half of Sunday’s match between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Edmonton at Clarke Stadium, NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson came into the broadcast booth and compared the two teams to heavyweight fighters. They were pushing each other, feeling each other out, looking for weaknesses.

“Most of the guys weren’t here last year, but as one of the players who has been here, we go down 1-0 on the road and it would be easy to think ‘here we go again.’ But, by the second half, we were taking the game to them."

FC Edmonton turned September into Christmas for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Despite being up a man for an hour, FC Edmonton couldn’t score — and, to make matters worse for the home team, the Eddies were caught at the back late in the game, as Luke Mulholland’s goal gave the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 1-0 win.

Stratford, PEI’s Mozzi Gyorio has been a big part of FC Tampa Bay’s surge up the standings. Gyorio, who is currently part of the national U-23 player pool, is a playmaking midfielder who can play in the middle or out on the right. He scored a key last-gasp free-kick marker in last week’s 3-3 draw in Montreal.

A comprehensive 4-0 win at Foote Field over FC Tampa Bay put FCE in second place overall in the NASL standings, six points behind the surging Carolina RailHawks. FC Edmonton has lost just two of eight matches in its first NASL season.