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Friday, May 25th, 2018 – Detroit City FC 1 FC Columbus 0
Matches like Friday’s, in which the favorites come out flat and allow the underdogs to seriously challenge them, happen all the time in soccer. The difference this time was that, instead of Columbus nabbing a goal and defending their way to an improbable victory, City dodged numerous bullets before grabbing a goal of their own. The takeaways:
(1) On the field, FC Columbus is far better than I expected – they beat Kalamazoo on Monday – and could very well be in the hunt for a playoff spot into the season’s final weeks.
(2) Due to Jimmy Fiscus being out and Stephen Carroll being rested, City came out in an awkward 4-1-4-1 with several players at different positions than usual.
The shuffled back line and single holding midfielder allowed Columbus to control possession for much of the first half and generate a handful of quality chances over the course of the match.
While I understood the decision to play Shawn Lawson on the wing, he’s such an effective goal-poacher that he’s far more valuable to the team when he’s playing up top. Sure enough, once he moved to striker after some second half substitutions, he scored the goal that City needed.
Tonight’s game-winning goal. #DCTID pic.twitter.com/Q4IpGpkVGt
— Detroit City FC (@DetroitCityFC) May 26, 2018
(3) Other standouts were Fernando Pina, who robbed Columbus of what looked like two or three sure goals, and Seb Harris, who had a headed assist on the above goal. He also had a sort-of-goalline-clearance earlier in the match:
Second-half heroics from @sebharris4. #DCTID pic.twitter.com/573zOU2VtB
— Detroit City FC (@DetroitCityFC) May 26, 2018
The ball probably would’ve travelled wide of the goal if he hadn’t intervened, but there’s a chance that Columbus’ back post runner could’ve gotten there too, so kicking it away was the best decision.
Finally, Roddy Green provided badly-needed energy and hustle off the bench. His persistence in winning a corner kick in stoppage time helped to kill off the remaining time, and should not be overlooked.
(4) The opening day tifo was spectacular, even though the strong wind and an unfortunately-placed concrete protrustion teamed up to rip it apart before it could be completely displayed. An A+ effort nonetheless.
Sunday, May 27th, 2018 – Detroit City FC 11 FC Indiana 0
(1) There’s not much to be gleaned from what was effectively a glorfied scrimmage/goal differential enhancer/ritual strangulation. The main question that was raised: Is 2018 FC Indiana the worst club to ever share a division with City? The contenders (FCI ’18 stats as of 5/29/18):
They still have seven matches to go, but they’re setting quite a pace for futility.
(2) One feat that deserves mentioning, Brogan Shrimpton scored The Ol’ Six-Minute Hat Trick, with goals in minute 74, 76, and 80. Maybe just as impressive was that his second and third goals bracketed yet another goal from Rafa Mentzingen in the 79th.
Photos by Franzi Loetzner
