Darren Smith continued his early hot streak with his fourth goal of the season as DCFC beat one of the elite teams in the USL Championship 1-0 on a bright, chilly afternoon in Hamtramck. Le Rouge needed a response after losing to Indy XI the previous week and they came out determined to make an impression on the Charleston Battery.
Early on Haruki Yamazaki had a shot fly past the top corner and Jeciel Cedeno forced a good save from Battery goalkeeper Luis Zamudio. Those warnings put the visiting Battery on the back foot. Even though they maintained an edge in possession, the visitors generated little in front of Carlos Herrera’s goal. Given the back and forth nature of the match in midfield and the limited opportunities, one goal looked like enough to decide which team would earn three points.
Yamazaki had been a thorn in the Battery’s attack for much of the game, locking down the right side of the DCFC back line. However, his deft pull-back dribble took two defenders out of the move that led to the winning goal. The play started with Herrera finding Yamazaki near the right touchline. He advanced into the Battery half before executing his move and finding Preston Tabort Etaka in the number ten position. The Cameroonian spread the ball to Ates Diouf on the left wing. Diouf beat his man on the dribble and centered the ball to where Smith was running. Smith redirected the ball past Zamudio to give DCFC the 1-0 lead in the 75th minute that they would not relinquish.
The smiles at the end of the game were tinged with concern, though. Maxi Rodriguez pulled up in the 41st minute with a non-contact injury. The early sense is that it is a hamstring strain with the severity unknown. Losing Rodriguez for any length of time would be a blow as he looked to be recapturing some of his form from two years ago. To add more concern, Tabort Etaka, who replaced Rodriguez in the first half, had to leave with what looked like a painful groin injury five minutes after DCFC took the lead.
DCFC has an Open Cup game in midweek against the Flint City Bucks in Grand Blanc followed by a trip to Rhode Island on Saturday. Defender Michael Bryant may be up to two months away from playing due to injury. The next few games will give DCFC an early test of its depth. So far, the new signings like Tommy Silva, Callum Montgomery, Alex Dalou, and Chisom Egbuchulam have been a boon to the team. As injuries pop up, they will get more chances to show their skills.
