Detroit City FC warmed up for this week’s big showdown against the Tampa Bay Rowdies with a tepid 0-0 draw against Loudoun United. City had the better chances, hitting the woodwork twice, but failed to breach a stubborn defense intent on bending, but not breaking.
The sellout crowd of 7,239 at Keyworth received a pleasant surprise when two of DCFC’s long term injured players returned to the substitutes’ bench. Defender Michael Bryant heard his name sung by the crowd during the pre-game warmups. He has yet to play a minute this season, so the first appearance of one of the team’s most popular players lifted the mood. Midfielder Jeciel Cedeno also returned from a lengthy absence.
Unfortunately for the supporters and the team, striker Darren Smith did not return to the squad after suffering an ankle injury in Tulsa. The team felt his absence. They created no opportunities in the opposing penalty area where Smith’s presence can make all the difference. Ates Diouf also returned from injury but didn’t start.
Danny Dichio started this game with a potent bench given those players returning from injury. He didn’t hesitate to use those subs either. Le Rouge played out an indifferent first half, conceding nothing of note but not generating much going forward.
The most serious chance came six minutes before halftime when Maxi Rodriguez curled a shot off the goalpost to the left of Loudoun goalkeeper Ethan Bandre. That brief burst stood out in an otherwise dull first forty-five minutes. Both teams had opportunities from corner kicks, but poor delivery or solid marking meant neither goal came under serious threat.
Dichio cut a frustrated figure as he left to deliver his halftime team talk. Moments after he departed, the substitutes came out to warm up. It became clear that changes were afoot. Cedeno and Diouf came on for Aedan Stanley and Rio Hope-Gund. That pushed Haruki Yamazaki to his regular right back spot as Cedeno took up a place on the right side of midfield and added a bit more attacking impetus to the left side where Diouf took over for Stanley.
Diouf made the difference immediately. He had free reign to take on defenders and force the play forward. Stanley is a naturally left-footed player who looked to cross the ball. Diouf likes to bring the ball down and cut inside to shoot with his right foot. He created the best chances of the second half and thumped a terrific shot off the crossbar in the 70th minute. Diouf earned a few free kicks in attacking positions, but they led to nothing.
While DCFC pushed forward as best as they could, Loudoun offered little in attack. Goalkeeper Carlos Herrera didn’t have a serious save to make until he stopped former US youth international Akil Watts in the 84th minute from a tight angle. Defensively, DCFC had little trouble containing Loudoun United, but that was never going to be the big challenge.
Le Rouge has now failed to score in their last two home games. Both of those matches came against teams who were not in playoff spots at the time. They have dropped points in three of the last four games, including a disappointing draw at Miami when Chisom Egbuchulam missed a stoppage time penalty kick that would have turned one point into three. The only win during this mini-slump came against FC Tulsa, who are currently sixth in the Western Conference, the best team DCFC has played this month.
Now DCFC has to face the top team in the USL Championship. The Tampa Bay Rowdies have an eleven point lead over the second place Charleston Battery, with DCFC one point behind Charleston. Orange County tops the Western Conference but are still ten points behind the Rowdies’ total of 44. The Rowdies come into Keyworth with a four game winning streak and a high-powered offense that has scored multiple goals in each of those four wins.
Matt Myers leads the line with nine goals and four assists. Myers has plenty of support, though. Veteran Russell Cicerone, a former Bucks players during his college days, has six goals and three assists. It’s been a tremendous year for the Rowdies. In addition to running away with the Eastern Conference, they also stormed through the group phase of the USL Cup with a perfect record of four wins in four games. They only missed out on the semifinals by losing to Louisville City in penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw. The Rowdies had already beaten Louisville 5-4 in one of the wildest games of the regular season at the beginning of August.
While most teams will probably concede the top spot in the East to Tampa Bay at this point, the battle to finish in the top four has grown closer. DCFC has unexpectedly dropped points in August, allowing other teams to close the gap. Charleston holds second place with 33 after losing over the weekend. DCFC is in third one point behind, but Louisville has moved up to 31 and DCFC’s nemesis the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have 30. Every game has now become more important as the teams jockey for home field advantage in the playoffs. DCFC will expect another big crowd against the league leaders. Dichio will hope and need to have his full team available for the big game of the weekend.
