Columbus, Ohio – Detroit City FC defeated Columbus Crew 2 on Thursday in a pre-season friendly with two late second-half goals at Historic Crew Stadium as the squad builds fitness in preparation for the 2024 USL Championship season.
Detroit City FC started the match with the following lineup: Nate Steinwascher (GK), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Alex Villanueva, Michael Bryant, Matt Sheldon, Abdoulaye Diop, James Murphy, Ben Morris, Ali Coote, and Elvis Amoh.
Le Rouge began the match controlling the tempo, doing well to work the ball from the back into the midfield, but had difficulty advancing the ball into dangerous attacking positions as the new additions to the squad continue to build chemistry with the returning members.
The first chance fell to midfielder Abdoulaye Diop, who received the ball from a wide position in the sixth minute of the match before lining up a shot that forced a save out of the Columbus keeper. Detroit City FC would come close on a corner in the 19th minute, but Elvis Amoh’s header was wide of the frame.
The hosts would open the scoring on a corner of their own; a towering header was converted into the net to make it 1-0 for Columbus going into the half.
Just after the 60th-minute mark, head coach Danny Dichio would make widespread changes to the lineup as he continues to work the squad through its preseason. On the pitch from 60’ onward: Carlos Saldaña (GK), Rhys Williams, Matt Lewis, Dominic Gasso, Brett Levis, Connor Rutz, Yazeed Matthews, Daniel Espeleta (Trialist), Lucas Gonzalez (Trialist), Peter Julmis (Trialist), and Nathan Wells (Trialist).
In the 75th minute, trialist Daniel Espeleta would go on a darting run through the midfield and into the Columbus penalty area, where he would then be fouled. Forward Yazeed Matthews stepped up and converted the spot kick to bring the match to a level 1-1.
Then, with just seconds remaining, a dangerous ball from out wide found the head of trialist Peter Julmis who confidently finished to give Le Rouge a 2-1 win in the 90th minute of play.
Next week, Detroit City FC is on the road to take on Indy Eleven as their pre-season slate of matches continues building up to the USL Championship season opener, on the road to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on March 16.
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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Please send all media inquiries to media@detcityfc.com.
Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
