DETROIT — Detroit City Football Club picks up its second straight home victory with a 1-0 victory over Indy Eleven on Saturday evening. A straight red card for Indy Eleven changed the dynamics of the game, and Detroit finally capitalized in the 57th minute with the first and only goal of the night, scored by Ates Diouf.
Danny Dichio made a few minor adjustments to the starting XI that took the field on Wednesday night in Rhode Island. Carlos Saldaña once again got the start in goal, with Devon Amoo-Mensah, Shane Wiedt, Michael Bryant, and Matt Sheldon leading the defensive back line. Kobe Hernandez-Foster and Abdoulaye Diop made up the defensive midfield, as Alex Villanueva and Connor Rutz made up the attacking midfield. Sebastián Guenzatti and Ates Diouf were the strikers for the evening.
Kobe Hernandez-Foster picked up the first opportunity of the evening in the 14th minute as he forced a save out of the Indy Eleven goalkeeper on a screamer of a free kick.
The momentum of the match swung in the 30th minute, as off an Indy corner kick, Bruno Rendon was shown a straight red card for an elbow that caught Devon Amoo-Mensah.
Even though Detroit spent the last fifteen minutes of the first half up a man, the club struggled to get anything going on the attacking end.
Michael Bryant was shown a yellow card in the 37th minute for a late tackle.
Detroit made one substitution change coming out of the halftime break, as they brought on Darren Smith for Shane Wiedt to bring more attacking prowess.
Detroit finally broke through in the 56th minute, as a brilliant dribble inside the box by Ates Diouf saw him play a ball across that ended up being tapped into the back of the net by an Indy Eleven player.
Detroit made two more changes in the 67th minute as Haruki Yamazaki and Jay Chapman entered the match for Connor Rutz and Abdoulaye Diop.
Although being down a man, Indy Eleven had its fair share of opportunities in the second half, forcing Carlos Saldaña into some key saves.
Le Rouge’s final two changes of the match came in the 74th minute as Rhys Williams and Ryan Williams entered the match for Sebastián Guenzatti and Alex Villanueva.
Detroit City continued to hold off the Indy attack for the final fifteen minutes and secured a crucial three points. The victory allows them to create some distance from seventh place. For goalkeeper Carlos Sandaña, it marked his third clean sheet in the past four matches across all competitions.
Detroit City heads onto the road next week for a Friday night battle at North Carolina FC. Le Rouge returns to Keyworth on August 23rd for an Eastern Conference battle against Tampa Bay Rowdies. Tickets for all Detroit City matches are available at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Detroit City Starting XI – Carlos Saldaña, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Shane Wiedt (46’), Michael Bryant, Matt Sheldon, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, Abdoulaye Diop (67’), Alex Villanueva (74’), Connor Rutz (67’), Sebastián Guenzatti (74’), Ates Diouf
Detroit City Substitutes – Rhys Williams (74’), Jay Chapman (67’), Darren Smith (46’), Haruki Yamazaki (67’), Carlos Herrera, Ryan Williams (74’), Bilal Obeid, Jordan Adebayo-Smith
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