DETROIT— Detroit City FC picked up three crucial points on Sunday afternoon at Keyworth Stadium, defeating top-of-the-table Louisville City FC 2-1. Maxi Rodriguez would open up the scoring with a goal off a free kick in the 17th minute. After a converted penalty by Louisville right before the half, Lou City would go down to ten men five minutes into the second half, and Connor Rutz would take advantage of that, scoring the game-winner in the 67th minute.
Coming off their 1-0 victory over New Mexico United last weekend, head coach Danny Dichio made only one change to the starting XI, bringing Rhys Williams into the eleven, replacing Laurent Kissiedou.
For Rhys Williams, this would mark his 100th appearance for Detroit City FC.
Detroit struggled throughout the first ten minutes. Getting out of the attacking third was difficult, as Louisville kept the pressure on constantly in their attacking third.
Le Rouge would pick up their first opportunity of the night in the 17th minute when they were awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out. James Murphy would take the kick and sent it to the far post. Maxi Rodriguez was there to put it past the keeper to give Detroit the 1-0 lead despite their struggle to get control of the game early on.
Off of the goal, Detroit continued the pressure on the attack, as Louisville looked out of sorts after conceding first. A ball played to Connor Rutz in the 25th minute saw him go one-on-one with the keeper in the box, but the Louisville keeper came out to stop the shot.
Crucially for DCFC, the game would get a bit chippy after the Rutz opportunity, as Louisville’s Phillip Goodrum picked up the match’s first yellow card in the 33rd minute, and Rhys Williams picked up Detroit’s first yellow card in the 37th.
Just as it seemed Detroit would go into the half 1-0 up, the ref signals for a penalty for Louisville after a Carlos Saldaña foul in the box. The penalty would be converted for Lou City, which would be the final kick of the half, as the teams were now level 1-1.
Coming out of the half, Louisville had a bit more tempo after finding the equalizer, but that came to an end in the 49th minute as Phillip Goodrum picked up his second yellow card of the match, and Louisville City would be down to 10 men for the rest of the game.
Le Rouge made their first change of the day in the 57th minute as Matt Sheldon entered the match for Michael Bryant.
Alex Villanueva would come close to a go-ahead goal in the 60th minute, as his shot from just outside the box went just above the bar.
On the counterattack in the 67th minute, Maxi Rodriguez would find Connor Rutz breaking past the last Louisville defender. The Louisville keeper would come out about 25 yards to try and stop the attack, but Rutz breaks past the keeper and taps it into the open net from the top of the box. Detroit City would have a 2-1 lead with just over 20 minutes remaining in the match.
For Rutz, it was his first goal since the season-opening match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
Detroit would make two more changes in the 81st minute as Laurent Kissiedou and Elvis Amoh entered the match for Ben Morris and Maxi Rodriguez.
The final change of the afternoon came in the 89th minute as Ryan Williams entered the match for Connor Rutz.
After five minutes of stoppages, the full-time whistle blew, giving Detroit City a crucial three points in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The victory still sees Le Rouge in fourth place, but they now sit just one point behind third-place Tampa Bay Rowdies and move five points ahead of fifth-place Indy Eleven.
Detroit City heads to California to face Monterey Bay FC next Saturday night. Kickoff for that match is set for 10 pm EDT. Le Rouge will return to Keyworth on October 12th in the penultimate home game of the regular season against Indy Eleven. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
Detroit City Starting XI: Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant (57’), James Murphy, Abdoulaye Diop, Rhys Williams, Maxi Rodriguez (81’), Connor Rutz (89’), Ben Morris (81’)
Detroit City Substitutes: Nate Steinwascher, Ryan Williams (89’), Matt Sheldon (57’), Daniel Espeleta, Elvis Amoh (81’), Jeciel Cedeño, Laurent Kissiedou (81’)
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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Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
