What a difference a week can make! Just seven days after a drab 0-0 draw against lowly Loudoun United, Detroit City treated a packed Keyworth Stadium to a rugged 1-0 win over the USL Championship’s top side. The Tampa Bay Rowdies came into the game with a healthy lead atop the Eastern Conference and an unbeaten road record.
Coach Danny Dichio had more of his full strength team available for this game than in the draw against Loudoun. Striker Darren Smith returned from an ankle problem and winger Ates Diouf started in his usual spot on the left side. Aedan Stanley started in place of regular left back Tommy Silva. Jeciel Cedeno also returned to the starting eleven for the first time since early in the season.
The Rowdies are a high-scoring machine who had a four game winning streak that opened up a big gap between them and the rest of the league. Their +19 goal difference led the league by six over the next best team. This game was the type of tall task DCFC needed to focus their attention after a brief wobble.
As most visiting teams do, the Rowdies tried a physical approach. A foul on Haruki Yamazaki inside two minutes, as inevitable as the sun rising, wound up a boisterous crowd even more. The Japanese defender has become a crowd favorite and according to Dichio is equally popular with his teammates. Yamazaki is on the receiving end of rough treatment more often than any other DCFC player. The first foul didn’t seem out of the ordinary, but after a couple more, the home team began to take exception. Defender Callum Montgomery stepped in to protect his much smaller teammate more than once. The big center back rarely arrived alone, though.
While the teams spent much of the first half hour sorting each other out, scoring opportunities failed to materialize. Yamazaki even picked up a yellow card for giving what he had been receiving from others to former Michigan Bucks forward Russell Cicerone.
Neither goalkeeper had much to do. Carlos Herrera only had to make two saves over the ninety minutes. His opposite number, Jamaican international Jahmali Waite, had about as much work, also making just two saves. The majority of the action took place between the two penalty areas, an occasionally attritional battle for control of the ball and each other’s territory with neither team willing to concede an inch.
DCFC finally found a crack in the Rowdies’ defensive wall after thirty-six minutes. Aedan Stanley bent a curving ball between Rowdies’ right wing back William Antley and the right center back Ethan Bartlow. Diouf ran between them and attempted to cross. His try was blocked with the ricochet coming straight into his body. Diouf’s momentum carried him and the ball clear of the defense. As the Rowdies appealed for a handball, he was able to compose himself and side-foot the ball past the onrushing Waite to give DCFC a lead going into halftime.
The Rowdies started a five-man defense. Their conservative approach proved to be their undoing. Antley was withdrawn at halftime and during the second half all three midfielders also exited. The changes had little effect on the play. DCFC’s stodgy defense held firm, conceding few chances. MD Myers and Cicerone had the best of the opportunities, with Herrera making a clutch save from Cicerone six minutes from the end. Karsen Henderlong had the last shot for the visitors with Herrera going low to his left to make the save.
The win moved DCFC into second place temporarily. The Charleston Battery could overtake DCFC if they win their rain delayed game against Miami. Still, ahead of a tough away schedule the rest of the season, DCFC will feel good about themselves. They are nine points behind the Rowdies with a game in hand. However, Le Rouge have to play at Louisville twice, Tampa Bay, and make an always difficult trip to Sacramento among their remaining fixtures. The first visit to Louisville comes this weekend. The Lynn Family Stadium has not been as impregnable as it has in previous seasons, but the hosts will be ready for DCFC.
The two teams have already met twice at Keyworth this year. DCFC won the league match 2-1 but lost in penalty kicks in the USL League Cup game after a 0-0 draw. Louisville City will still remember the sting of DCFC winning at the Lynn Family Stadium last year in the opening round of the playoffs. Coming off a 2-1 loss at Indy XI, they will want to get back on the winning path and close the four-point gap on DCFC in the standings. For DCFC, there are two point spreads to watch. First, they are now thirteen points clear of the playoff line. Second, they want to finish in the top four in order to host a playoff game at Keyworth. The four points between themselves and fifth place Louisville City is as vital a lead as any other.
