DETROIT — Detroit City Football Club claims victory in the USL Jägermeister Cup, as Darren Smith’s stoppage time goal gives Detroit City a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. A defensive slugfest throughout sees the forward pick up the winner in the second minute of stoppage time, and claim DCFC’s first three points in group stage action.
Head Coach Danny Dichio made one change to his starting XI from last week’s 3-0 victory over Rhode Island FC. Alex Villanueva re-joined the lineup, replacing Shane Wiedt.
A chippy first half didn’t see many shots on target for either side. Both sides had a few good opportunities throughout the first 45 minutes, but Pittsburgh was the team with the only shot on target in the match at the break.
Ryan Williams picks up the afternoon’s first yellow card for either side in the ninth minute, after a late tackle on a Pittsburgh midfielder.
Detroit had its first opportunity of the afternoon in the tenth minute. A free kick was driven to Alex Villanueva at the far corner of the box. He got the ball to Connor Rutz, who was in front of the net, but Rutz headed the ball wide.
Le Rouge would come close again in the 15th minute, as Ryan Williams drove a corner kick into the middle of the box. Devon Amoo-Mensah got his head on the cross, and his header was sent just a touch over the crossbar.
Pittsburgh would pick up its first yellow card of the match in the 25th minute, as midfielder Aidan O’Toole picked up the foul. Sean Suber of Pittsburgh would pick up the club’s second yellow card eight minutes later.
Carlos Saldaña would be called into action in the 37th minute, as a cross was driven into the box, and Pittsburgh would get a shot from up close, but Saldaña made a diving save.
The second half looked like the first half, as both sides were struggling to get anything going in the attacking third so far in this second half. Both teams stuck trading turnovers in the midfield.
Detroit would get its best chance of the match up to this point in the 61st minute. Villanueva received the ball off a corner kick, and his shot to the near post forced the Pittsburgh goalkeeper into a diving stop.
Detroit would make two substitutions quickly, as in the 65th minute, when Ben Morris entered the match for Connor Rutz. And in the 73rd minute, Haruki Yamazaki entered the match for Rhys Williams.
Ben Morris came close to opening the scoring in the match in the 74th minute, as his shot from the top of the box went just over the crossbar.
Haruki Yamazaki drove the ball to Darren Smith in the box in the 89th minute, but Smith’s header went right into the keeper’s hands.
Just as the game felt like it was going into penalty kicks, Ben Morris played a ball to Darren Smith in the box in the second minute of stoppage time. Smith would put it past the Riverhounds keeper, and Detroit City seemed to have stolen the game at the death.
Detroit would make one final substitution after the goal, putting on Dominic Gasso for Jay Chapman.
Another extra minute of stoppage time was added, and Pittsburgh came close to leveling the game in the final seconds. A ball was played into the box, and Pittsburgh had multiple shots to put the ball into the back of the net, but a goal-line clearance sealed the game for Detroit City.
With the victory, Carlos Saldaña picks up the clean sheet, his second of the season.
Detroit City picked up its first three points of the tournament, which puts them second behind Hartford Athletic on goal differential.
Detroit City now heads on the road for the next three weekends. Le Rouge will return to Keyworth Stadium on May 24th to take on Charleston Battery. Kickoff from Keyworth Stadium is set for 4 p.m. Tickets for all Detroit City matches are available 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 Starting XI – Carlos Saldana, Alex Villanueva, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Michael Bryant, Jeciel Cedeño, Ryan Williams, Jay Chapman (90+3’), Rhys Williams (73’), Darren Smith, Connor Rutz (65’)
Detroit City Substitutes – Carlos Herrera, Shane Wiedt, Haruki Yamazaki (73’), Dominic Gasso (90+3’), Ben Morris (65’), Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Ates Diouf
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Primary Media Contact: Jarrett Maki (Sports Information Director, jarrett.maki@detcityfc.com)
