Cary, North Carolina — Detroit City FC struggled to build momentum on Friday evening, but a late goal in second-half stoppage time would see Detroit claim a point in a 1-1 road draw against North Carolina FC. North Carolina would go down to ten men just five minutes into the game, but it would be North Carolina taking the lead in the 67th minute before Victor Bezerra equalized the game in the third minute of stoppage time.
Coming off of the 1-0 loss on Saturday against Memphis 901 FC, Head Coach Danny Dichio would make one change to the starting XI, bringing Abdoulaye Diop back into the starting lineup for James Murphy.
The game never got a chance to develop as an 11-vs-11 game. On a breakaway in the 5th minute, North Carolina defender Ezra Armstrong fouled Rhys Williams, and the referee showed Armstrong a red for the tackle.
Even though Detroit City would have the advantage for the rest of the match, there would be moments throughout the game when Detroit looked like they had a man down.
North Carolina would be the first team to pick up a goal-scoring opportunity on the evening. In the 30th minute, a shot to the far post went just wide of the post and rolled out for a goal kick.
Le Rouge controlled possession throughout the first half, but North Carolina’s backline neutralized that advantage, as they did not let anything from Detroit get past them. Detroit’s best opportunity came in the 39th minute off a shot from Ben Morris outside the box, but the shot went just above the crossbar.
Coming out of the half, North Carolina set the early tempo. Nate Steinwascher faced two shots within the first ten minutes, forcing him into some early second-half saves.
Detroit made their first changes in the 63rd minute, and it was a quadruple substitution, with Brett Levis, Matt Sheldon, James Murphy, and Victor Bezerra entering the match for Alex Villanueva, Ryan Williams, Michael Bryant, and Elvis Amoh.
With the fresh legs on the field, Detroit would up the attacking tempo on the North Carolina back line, but a turnover in the 67th minute led to a counter-attacking opportunity that saw Oalex Anderson cross the ball to Evan Conway, who had an open net in front of him and gave North Carolina the 1-0 lead.
Even with Detroit upping the pressure to find an equalizer, the North Carolina backline would not break, and DCFC continued to struggle to get anything going.
Le Rouge’s final substitution of the night came in the 77th minute, as Yazeed Matthews entered the match for Maxi Rodriguez.
The fourth official would signal for seven minutes of stoppage time, and time was running out for Detroit to find an equalizer.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Victor Bezerra took a shot from inside the box that deflected off a North Carolina defender and into the back of the net, tying the matchup at 1-1.
Before the restart of play, Yazeed Matthews would be shown a red card.
The two sides would play 10-vs-10 for the game’s final three minutes, but no team could find a go-ahead goal, ending this game in a 1-1 draw.
Detroit City returns to Keyworth next weekend to face off against Western Conference foe Sacramento Republic FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Detroit City FC Starters: Nate Steinwascher, Alex Villanueva (64’), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant (64’), Ryan Williams (64’), Abdoulaye Diop, Maxi Rodriguez (77’), Ben Morris, Rhys Williams, Elvis Amoh (64’)
Detroit City FC Subs: James Murphy (64’), Victor Bezerra (64’), Matt Sheldon (64’), Brett Levis (64’), Abdi Salim, Yazeed Matthews (77’), Carlos Saldaña
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Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
