HAMTRAMCK, MICHIGAN – After giving up an early tally to the Columbus Crew (2-2-4 all competitions), the Detroit City Football Club (5-2-1 all competitions) responded with two second-half goals on Tuesday night at Keyworth Stadium to advance into the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, 2-1.
The winning goal for Detroit City came from a penalty kick in the 86th minute from midfielder Maxi Rodriguez. Rodriguez is 2-of-2 from the spot this season and 6-of-6 since joining DCFC in 2021. The penalty was set up after midfielder Michael Bryant took a touch into the box and was pulled down in the area.
The Crew took the lead early into the first half with a penalty of their own. Midfielder Abdoulaye Diop went to make a challenge and was whistled for a foul in the 18-yard box in the 7th minute. Forward Gyasi Zardi – a former academy signee of DCFC head coach and general manager Trevor James while the pair were with the LA Galaxy – slotted the kick past a diving Nate Steinwascher for his second goal on 2022.
Detroit City FC had a total of 6 shots in the first 45 minutes but they were unable to connect them on target. The Crew dominated ball possession in the first half with 63%, to City’s 37%.
There was a momentum swing toward Le Rouge in the second half. City was able to find the equalizer in the 64-minute mark off of a header from Rodriguez. A Le Rouge throw in played to forward Antoine Hoppenot set the scene for Rodriguez’ header – his first goal from the run of play this season.
Right after the Detroit goal, Columbus came right back and goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher made a beautiful diving save to keep the Crew from adding to its total.
In the second half, Le Rouge doubled its shot total to 12 and had 2 on target. Fouls were almost equal with City at 12 and the Crew at 15. Only 4 yellow cards were given the entire match with 1 for Detroit and 3 for Columbus.
The Round of 32 Draw for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will take place this Thursday.
This coming Saturday, April 23, Le Rouge will be traveling to Connecticut for its third USL Championship road contest to play Hartford Athletic at 7:00pm at Trinity Health Stadium on ESPN+.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on Twitter and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
