DETROIT — Detroit City Football Club was handed a 1-0 defeat to first-place Louisville City on Saturday evening. A goal in the sixth minute from Louisville saw the visitors take the lead, but Le Rouge couldn’t find an equalizer despite multiple opportunities.
A few changes see Danny Dichio field a different starting XI from the one that took the field against Lexington FC last weekend. Carlos Saldaña once again got the start in goal with Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, and Shane Wiedt as the three defenders making up the back line. Alex Villanueva, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, Ryan Williams, Matt Sheldon, and Jeciel Cedeño made up the five-man midfield. Darren Smith and Ates Diouf were the two strikers.
Le Rouge could not get settled into this game, as Louisville pressed the Detroit back line from the opening kick. The attack would end in the sixth minute when Taylor Davila fed the ball to Sean Totsch, who put it into the back of the net, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Detroit City would have to fight against Louisville’s statistical tendencies this year. LCFC is unbeaten when scoring the opening goal in USL Championship matches this season, with 15 wins and three draws.
Although Louisville had all the momentum, Detroit City grew into this match as the first half continued. Le Rouge came close to an answer in the 13th minute as Cedeño played a ball into the box, finding Smith from close range, but he put it just wide.
A brilliant corner from Kobe Hernandez-Foster in the 32nd minute was driven to the far post, where Shane Wiedt headed it just wide of the post.
Detroit had two more opportunities in the 39th minute as Darren Smith went in on a breakaway, having his shot deflected by the keeper. Matt Sheldon would take the rebound and had his shot saved by the diving keeper.
The beginning of the second half played out much like the first, as Louisville City suffocated the Detroit attack in midfield. To counteract the tempo, Detroit made three substitutions in the 62nd minute, bringing Jay Chapman, Abdoulaye Diop, and Isaiah LeFlore into the match for Jeciel Cedeño, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, and Alex Villanueva.
A relatively calm game on fouls saw its first yellow card shown in the 70th minute as Louisville City’s Brian Ownby picked up one for a late foul, and Ates Diouf was shown one in the 76th minute. Those would be the only two cards of the nig
Detroit City made another change in the 74th minute as Haruki Yamazaki entered the match for Matt Sheldon.
A fantastic opportunity came in the 79th minute, as Ates Diouf went on the counterattack, broke into the box, and launched a shot directed to the far post, which rang off the crossbar.
The final change of the night came in the 82nd minute as Sebastian Guenzatti entered the match for Abdoulaye Diop.
Four minutes of stoppage time would not be enough for DCFC to find an equalizer, and Louisville would walk away with all three points. With the loss, Detroit City still sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, level on points with eighth-place Indy Eleven and one point behind ninth-place Rhode Island FC.
Detroit City continues its homestand next weekend, hosting a crucial Eastern Conference battle against North Carolina FC. Kickoff from Keyworth on October 4th is at 4 PM. Tickets for all Detroit City games 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 Saldaña, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Stephen Carroll, Shane Wiedt, Alex Villanueva (62’), Kobe Hernandez-Foster (62’), Ryan Williams, Matt Sheldon (74’), Jeciel Cedeño (62’), Darren Smith, Ates Diouf
Detroit City Substitutes – Jay Chapman (62’), Abdoulaye Diop (62’, 82’), Haruki Yamazaki (74’), Carlos Herrera, Sebastian Guenzatti (82’), Dominic Gasso, Isaiah LeFlore (62’), Bilal Obeid
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