Birmingham, Alabama — Detroit City FC claimed their first win in eight matches with a 1-0 road victory over Birmingham Legion FC on Friday night. A goal from Brett Levis would be the deciding factor in this game, but a spectacular defensive performance in the second half secured the victory for Le Rouge.
Head Coach Danny Dichio made two changes to the lineup he sent out for a 1-1 draw against Las Vegas Lights FC last weekend. Maxi Rodriguez and Matt Sheldon return to the starting XI, while Jeciel Cedeño is dropped to the bench, and Abdoulaye Diop misses out on this match.
A balanced first fifteen minutes saw Birmingham control the possession. Still, Detroit would get the only opportunity of the first few minutes of this match, as in the third minute, Ben Morris led a three-on-two attack off of a turnover before Morris fed the ball to Connor Rutz in the box, but his shot went just wide of the far post.
Connor Rutz would have his second opportunity of the night in the 19th minute, as his shot was immediately deflected off a Birmingham player and sent out for a corner kick.
A beautiful cross from Rhys Williams into the box in the 32nd minute was put into a dangerous area for the Birmingham keeper. He deflected it, and it landed to Brett Levis, who had an open net in front of him. He taps it in to give Detroit a 0-1 lead.
The goal was the last significant action of the first half, as the two sides went into the locker room with a 0-1 scoreline. Detroit grew to control the half, and they would need to continue to do so if they wanted to claim three points in this match.
Detroit came out of the half playing more defensively in an effort to secure the victory. Their performance was nothing short of spectacular. It started with a save by Carlos Saldaña off a free kick in the 53rd minute that ensured this game stayed at 0-1.
Daniel Espeleta got close to doubling Detroit’s lead in the 65th minute off a backheel shot, but the Birmingham keeper made a brilliant save.
Detroit would make its first changes of the night in the 71st minute as Michael Bryant and Elvis Amoh entered the match for Connor Rutz and Daniel Espeleta.
The Detroit backline would come up huge again with two significant clearances back to back. On a Birmingham attack, a cross into the box was cleared out for a corner off of a header from Stephen Carroll. Off the ensuing corner, Carroll once again cleared the ball out into the midfield to stop the Birmingham attack.
Two more changes were made in the 83rd minute as Victor Bezerra and Alex Villanueva entered the match for Ben Morris and Rhys Williams.
Almost immediately, Bezerra comes close with an opportunity on net. Driving into the near post, Bezerra takes a shot that deflects off of a diving keeper, but the ball stops just before the goal line and is cleared out by Birmingham.
After five minutes of stoppage time, Detroit would pick up a crucial three points, moving them up to sixth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind fifth-place Birmingham and fourth-place Indy Eleven, who have played one more game than Le Rouge.
Detroit City finishes its three-match road trip in St. Petersburg next Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Le Rouge returns to Keyworth Stadium on August 24th against FC Tulsa. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
Detroit City FC Starters: Carlos Saldaña, Brett Levis, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Matt Sheldon, Daniel Espeleta (71’), James Murphy, Maxi Rodriguez, Rhys Williams (83’), Ben Morris (83’), Connor Rutz (71’)
Detroit City FC Substitutes: Nate Steinwascher, Alex Villanueva (83’), Ryan Williams, Victor Bezerra (83’), Michael Bryant (71’), Elvis Amoh (71’), Jeciel Cedeño
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
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Please send all media inquiries to media@detcityfc.com.
Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
