DETROIT — Detroit City made it four wins out of four to start the season with a 1-0 victory over North Carolina FC Saturday afternoon at Keyworth Stadium. A North Carolina own goal in the 10th minute was the only goal on the day, leading Detroit to continue its perfect start to the season.
Head Coach Danny Dichio’s starting XI remained unchanged from last weekend’s 2-1 road win over Indy Eleven.
A trademark of Dichio’s teams is starting the game off quickly offensively, and this game was no different. Detroit controlled most of the possession for the first ten minutes of this game, not letting North Carolina gain momentum.
Rhys Williams went on the counter-attack in the 10th minute, receiving the ball from a cross at midfield. Williams broke past several North Carolina defenders and took a shot from inside the box. The shot deflected off of North Carolina defender Nelson Blanco’s foot and ricocheted into the back of the net, giving Detroit the early 1-0 lead.
Defensive stops on both sides dominated the rest of the first half. Even though Detroit controlled the possession, they couldn’t convert that into another goal.
Ali Coote had the last opportunity of the first half in the 44th minute. Off of a turnover, Maxi Rodriguez crossed the ball to Coote, ran into the 18-yard box, and, from just inside the box, took a shot on net that a defender redirected. The shot almost landed at Williams’ feet, but the ball bounced just past and out of play.
In the second half, Dichio was forced into an early substitution, as Yazeed Matthews replaced Elvis Amoh in the 58th minute.
North Carolina earned a free-kick opportunity in the 59th minute in their best opportunity of the day. The corner would swing into the box, and Rodrigo Da Costa would head it right on target and was only kept out by a leaping Nate Steinwascher to tip it just over the bar.
Quickly after the first sub, Dichio would be forced into another substitution in the 65th minute, as Williams had to be helped off of the pitch by the medical staff. Ben Morris came in to replace him.
Da Costa would have another opportunity for North Carolina in the 75th minute, taking a shot from just outside the 18-yard box, but Steinwascher knocked the ball out of play again, keeping this a 1-0 game.
Le Rouge made a double change in the 79th minute, replacing Micheal Bryant and Brett Levis with Matt Sheldon and Alex Villanueva.
Due to the substitutions and injuries, the fourth official indicated 12 minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Dichio’s final sub came in stoppage time, as Dominic Gasso was brought on for Ali Coote.
The full-time whistle blew after the 12 added minutes, and Detroit walked away with a hard-fought 1-0 victory. Le Rouge moves to 4-0-0 and currently sits atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Steinwascher earned his first clean sheet of the season, only facing one shot on goal today.
Detroit City’s next game will be in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, where they will face Michigan Stars FC from NISA. The game will take place on Tuesday, April 16th, with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm. Tickets for that match can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
DCFC Starting XI: Nate Steinwascher, Brett Levis (79’), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant (79’), James Murphy, Abdoulaye Diop, Ali Coote (90’), Maxi Rodriguez, Rhys Williams (65’), Elvis Amoh (58’)
DCFC Substitutes: Ben Morris (65’), Alex Villanueva (79’), Matt Sheldon (79’), Daniel Espeleta, Dominic Gasso (90’), Yazeed Matthews (58’), Carlos Saldaña
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
##DCFC##
Please send all media inquiries to media@detcityfc.com.
Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
