Detroit City FC took home three points from AFC Ann Arbor Sunday evening with a triumphant 3-1 comeback win at Hollway Field in Ann Arbor.
Cyrus Saydee (Michigan State) scored the first and third City goals. Tyler Moorman (Detroit Mercy) scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute, which Saydee assisted on.
The first half went back and forth, with both teams testing the opposing goalkeeper on occasion. A total seventeen fouls created a choppy pace of play and prevented either team from breaking through.
In the second half, the game started to open up.
Willie Bayemi took advantage of a defensive miscommunication in the 56th minute. As Seb Harris (Oakland) waited for goalkeeper Cody Lang (Seattle Pacific) to come collect a long through-ball, Bayemi intervened and slid it into an empty net.
Going down a goal injected new life into the Boys in Rouge, who scored three goals in nine minutes to take hold of the game for good.
In the 74th minute, Saydee put Le Rouge on the board by chipping Ann Arobor goalkeeper Fabian Veit so beautifully all Veit could do was watch as the ball nestled into the far corner of the net.
Six minutes later, Saydee bent a corner kick toward the back post where Moorman was waiting to tap it in and put City ahead, 2-1.
In the 83rd minute, Saydee blocked a clearance attempt from Veit and it looped into the goal, putting the game on ice.
Head coach Ben Pirmann spoke after the match.
“You just have to keep doing what you’re doing and trust the process.”
Le Rouge has two matches on the docket in the coming week. First, Columbus Crew College Program visits for a mid-week friendly on Wednesday, July 6 at 7:30 p.m. Then, Sunday, July 10, City hits the road again for a noon kickoff against Lansing United.
Tickets for Wednesday’s match are still available here.
City Starting XI: 30 Lang, 28 Moorman, 96 Sinclair (27 Dalou 67’), 4 Harris, 23 Schewee (40 Waugaman 68’), 11 Taylor, 18 Edwardson, 10 Saydee, 8 Adkins (7 Pliakos 34’), 35 Lasinski (2 Isaevski 55’), 33 Bautista
AFC Ann Arbor Starting XI: 1 Veit, 6 Oliveria, 5 Adeiyi, 12 Braem, 15 Taylor, 4 Smith, 19 Rufe (14 Pagani 83’), 8 Rumbold (9 Jacob 70’), 17 Bayemi, 10 Morales (3 Owusu 73’), 7 Suarez
Goals: Bayemi 56’, Saydee 74’, Moorman 80’, Saydee 83’
Cards: Suarez 31’, Braem 59’, Edwardson 77’, Smith 90’ (red)