GRAND BLANC — Detroit City FC advanced to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup round of 32 with a disciplined 1-0 road win over Flint City Bucks on a cold Wednesday night at Don Batchelor Stadium, riding a first-half strike from man of the match Alex Dalou and a composed defensive effort to see out the tie.
City had to weather an early storm as Flint came out aggressively, generating a pair of shots and two corners inside the opening 10 minutes while forcing Detroit into emergency defending and an early yellow card for Kobe Hernandez-Foster.
As the half wore on, Danny Dichio’s side settled into possession, with Dalou and Chisom Egbuchulam increasingly dangerous between the lines and in wide channels. City’s pressure finally paid off in the 40th minute, when Tommy Silva combined down the left flank and Dalou cut inside to rip a right-footed effort from outside the box into the bottom-left corner for a 1-0 lead.
Detroit carried that advantage into halftime, backed by the stats, holding 62% of the ball and a 7-5 edge in shots through 45 minutes. After the break, City managed the game with maturity by circulating possession, winning key duels, and using set pieces and wide attacks to keep Flint pinned back for long stretches.
Flint did carve out a pair of big chances over 90 minutes but failed to hit the target on those moments, while City doubled them up in shots on target (4-2) and kept goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson busier than Carlos Saldana on the DCFC defensive end.
Later on, Dalou nearly doubled his tally with a right-footed effort from the left side of the box that was held by Goldson in stoppage time. In the closing minutes, Abdoulaye Diop and Callum Montgomery won crucial free kicks in both halves of the pitch, allowing Detroit to manage the clock and territory before the final whistle confirmed a 1-0 win and a clean sheet on the road.
By the numbers:
Possession: Flint 45% — Detroit 55%.
Total shots: Flint 9 — Detroit 13.
Shots on target: Flint 2 — Detroit 4.
Big chances: Flint 2 (2 missed) — Detroit 1 (1 missed).
Accurate passes: Flint 303 (78%) — Detroit 366 (80%).
Corners: Flint 3 — Detroit 6.
Detroit City starting XI: Saldana, Silva (46′), Hope-Gund, Amoo-Mensah (46′), Rhys Williams, Hernandez-Foster (61′), Diop, Rutz, Dalou, Cedeno (61′), Egbuchulam (81′)
Detroit City substitutes: Yamazaki (46′), Montgomery (46′), Ryan Williams (61′), Diouf (61′), Stanley (81′)
Le Rouge next play at Cantreville Bank Stadium against Rhode Island FC in a regular-season USL Championship match Tuesday, April 4. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X, Facebook, and @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.
Please send all media inquiries to media@detcityfc.com.
