HAMTRAMCK, MI (July 31, 2021)- Detroit City FC hosted their city rival Hamtramck City FC in a benefit friendly match on Saturday, where DCFC would go on to dominate in a 6-1 finish.
DCFC played very fast and aggressive soccer as soon as the ball was kicked off. Players like #21 Maxi Rodriguez and #23 Darwin Espinal were pivotal in the attack and caused Hamtramck City FC to play much of the first half on their own side and causing many turnovers. The fast pace and speed of DCFC would be very hard to handle for HCFC.
However, on HCFC’s first counter-attack, #4 Aldaji Kourouma would draw a penalty where he would cash in the shot in the 21 min.
The goal would be a wake-up call for the Le Rouge as Hamtramck City would ease their way into playing with the tempo of Detroit City. After going down a goal at home, DCFC looked to answer back in any way possible. Shots were fired from all over the final third and balls were whipped in from crosses to try and find anyone open.
Finally, in the 34 min, #23 Espinal Darwin would find a trailing #19 Pato Botello-Faz in the middle of the box where he would place the ball perfectly in the bottom right corner. After tying the game up, DCFC began to play with more and more confidence again, and exactly 10 min later, #54 Keith Larson would fire a deep shot that would travel through the wind and put the ball in the top right corner to put Detroit City up 2-1 at the end of the half.
The Le Rouge would even see more opportunities in the second half as in just 6 minutes, #2 Jimmy Filerman would find himself with the ball right in front of the net as the Hamtramck City goalkeeper and defender miscommunicated and just tapped the ball in for the score.
Much of the same pressure and tempo that was dictated in the first half came in the second half. From this pressure, the ball would continue to stay in HCFC’s half of the field and Detroit City did whatever they pleased. With a scramble in the box, #4 Anthony Manning would see #2 Jimmy Filerman open and Filerman would notch his second goal of the match just 15 minutes after his first.
Again, after a countless number of shots, Detroit City would continue to dominate the ball, especially in the final third. With some sweet passes between #10 Cyrus Saydee and #11 Connor Rutz, the two would eventually link up and Rutz would fire a shot that scraped the bottom left post and would find its way in the back of the net.
In the 90 minute, Saydee would pick up his second assist of the match as he picked out #12 Tendai Jirira open in the box where he would smash his head through the ball and into the goal to finish the game at 6-1.
In an incredible and dominant performance by the entire Detroit City team, #54 Keith Larson would be awarded the Google Fi Man of the Match award for his stellar and unbelievable goal in the first, which also happened to be his first goal of the season.
Detroit City FC closes out their NISA Independent Cup schedule as they visit Cleveland SC on Tuesday, August 3 at George Finnie Stadium.