DETROIT — Detroit City FC’s brilliant defensive performance falls short as they concede late, and Sacramento Republic FC walks away with all three points and a 1-0 final score.
Sacramento started the game quickly. Straight off the kickoff, they went on the attack and forced Carlos Saldaña into an early save. Sacramento sent the tempo early, which would continue throughout the match.
Detroit’s game plan throughout the match was to make Sacramento uncomfortable on the counterattack. In the seventh minute, Detroit forced a turnover in the midfield, leading to a beautiful cross landing to Rhys Williams wide open on the opposite side of the field. Willams would cross into the box and try to find Amoh with a header, but Sacramento cleared it out.
Saldaña was forced into another major save in the 17th minute as a shot from just inside the box made Saldaña make a diving save to keep this game level.
Back on the counterattack in the 21st minute, Maxi Rodriguez drives into the box, takes a shot from a tight angle, and forces the Sacramento keeper to punch it away, but Alex Villanueva is there for the rebound, and it goes off the crossbar.
Only one yellow card was shown throughout the game, as Matt Sheldon was shown the yellow in the 27th minute for a late tackle.
Le Rouge’s last major opportunity of the half came in the 32nd minute. Elvis Amoh went one-on-one with the keeper in the box, and Danny Vitiello forced the shot out of play.
Both teams went into the locker room still scoreless, as Sacramento had controlled the possession and tempo, but Detroit City had the better scoring opportunities in the half.
Coming out of the half, Detroit City upped the tempo early. In the 48th minute, Amoh had a shot in the box that forced the Sacramento keeper to make a diving save.
Saldaña made another huge save in the 58th minute as a diving save kept this game level at 0-0.
The first changes of the night came in the 69th minute, as Victor Bezerra and Michael Bryant entered the match for Rhys Williams and Matt Sheldon.
Detroit would be forced into another change just three minutes later, as Abdoulaye Diop was forced off with an injury. Ryan Williams came on the pitch as a replacement.
Bezerra had DCFC’s best chance of the night in the 76th minute. A cross in the box found Bezerra for a header, but the ball was headed just wide.
Sacramento found the back of the net in the 84th minute. A cross into the box found Russell Cicerone at the far post, and he headed it into the back of the net, giving Republic a 1-0 lead with just six minutes remaining.
The fourth substitution for Le Rouge of the night saw Yazeed Matthews enter the match for Maxi Rodriguez in the 86th minute.
After four minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the full-time whistle, giving Sacramento Republic the 1-0 victory on the night.
Detroit City still has not claimed a point against Sacramento Republic in the club’s history, now falling to 0-0-3.
Detroit City travels to Connecticut on Wednesday to take on Hartford Athletic and will return to Keyworth next weekend to face off against Rhode Island FC for a game that will be nationally televised on CBS. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
Detroit Starting XI- Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Matt Sheldon (69’), James Murphy, Abdoulaye Diop (72’), Maxi Rodriguez (86’), Ben Morris, Rhys Williams (69’), Elvis Amoh
Detroit Substitutes- Nate Steinwascher, Ryan Williams (72’), Victor Bezerra (69’), Michael Bryant (69’), Daniel Espeleta, Brett Levis, Yazeed Matthews (86’)
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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Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
