El Paso — Detroit City FC settled for a point in a 0-0 draw against Western Conference opponent El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday evening. A difficult night for both sides saw chances throughout, but both backlines stood tall.
Coming into this matchup, Danny Dichio slightly altered his starting XI from the one that took the field in a 1-1 draw against Hartford Athletic last weekend. Alex Villanueva and Connor Rutz were brought into the eleven, while Brett Levis and Maxi Rodriguez were removed.
El Paso dominated possession throughout the first 20 minutes, not allowing Detroit to get any attack going. Although Locomotive controlled the tempo, they struggled to find scoring opportunities, only getting two shots off with neither on target.
Alex Villanueva would have Detroit’s first opportunity of the night in the 21st minute, as he beat two El Paso defenders in the midfield and took a shot from just outside the box, but the shot was fired right at the keeper.
Detroit’s continued pressure would add up to another opportunity in the 30th minute, as an outstanding cross into the box found an unmarked Amoo-Mensah at the far post, but his header was directed right to the El Paso goalkeeper, who made the easy save.
The sides went into the half still level at 0-0, and even though both sides had sustained pressure at moments throughout the half, neither team could get any shots off that tested the opposing goalkeepers.
Coming out of the half-time break, Detroit City was straight on the attack, testing El Paso multiple times.
Detroit’s pressure culminated in the 51st minute as Alex Villanueva got into the box and delivered a pass to Ben Morris right in the middle of the six-yard box. He headed it into the net, but the referee brought the goal back because the ball crossed the back touchline prior to Villanueva passing it.
The first substitutions of the night for Le Rouge saw Daniel Espeleta and Maxi Rodriguez enter the match for Laurent Kissiedou and James Murphy.
Connor Rutz would come close to finding the opener in the 74th minute, as a pass from Maxi Rodriguez in the box found Rutz one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn’t get a good shot away and fired it straight at the diving keeper. That shot would be Rutz’s last action of the night, as Victor Bezerra replaced him just moments later.
El Paso had an excellent opportunity to find an opener in the 81st minute, as a brilliant set of passes led to a shot being taken from the top of the box, but Saldaña made a great diving save, keeping this match level.
Detroit’s final substitution of the night came in the 83rd minute, as Matt Sheldon entered the match for Alex Villanueva.
Five minutes of stoppage time wasn’t enough to find an opening goal, as both sides settled for a point as this match ended in a 0-0 draw.
For Detroit City, the point still keeps them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference for now, as Indy Eleven now sits in fifth place with 37 points, but they have a game in hand on Le Rouge.
Detroit City returns to Keyworth Stadium next Saturday to face off against Western Conference side New Mexico United. Tickets for all Detroit City matches can be found at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.
Detroit City Starters: Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva (83’), Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant, James Murphy (64’), Abdoulaye Diop, Connor Rutz (76’), Laurent Kissiedou (64’), Rhys Williams, Ben Morris
Detroit City Substitutes: Nate Steinwascher, Ryan Williams, Victor Bezerra (76’), Matt Sheldon (83’), Daniel Espeleta (64’), Maxi Rodriguez (64’), Jeciel Cedeño
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)
