by Article and Photos by Robert Sherman
Detroit City FC had their work cut out for them on Saturday evening, having to claw their way back to earn a 1-1 draw against Harpos FC, with a crucial U.S. Open Cup challenge against Michigan Bucks waiting in the shadows.
The second consecutive draw for the Boys in Rouge brings an end to a difficult preseason campaign that saw the club earn a sole victory against Chattanooga FC, then finish with two unfulfilling draws. City’s current run of form not only has supporters stressed about Wednesday’s clash with the Bucks, but head coach Ben Pirmann has his reservations as well.
“I don’t think we’ve played great in our three preseason games, so obviously that is a concern,” the gaffer said. “But they’re just preseason games, if they meant something, they wouldn’t be preseason games.
“The biggest thing was the toll it took on our bodies. We’re going to be down three starters on Wednesday [against the Bucks], as if it wasn’t going to be tough as it was.”
Pirmann chose to not rotate his lineup much against Harpos FC, playing the likes of Cyrus Saydee, Roddy Green, Danny Deakin, Shawn Lawson, and other important players for a majority of the match. This decision proved costly.
Tyler Moorman went down with a lower back injury in the second half – an issue that he’s been fighting for a while now. Deakin was slashed down by a defender in the first half, forcing him out of the match with an ankle injury. Tariq Akeel was substituted early with an injury as well.
“Those three were the big injuries today,” Pirmann said. “They won’t be playing any time soon.”
Once again, Detroit City FC held a majority of the possession in the match, and spent a ton of time in the attacking third, putting pressure on the Harpos backline and goalkeepers. Unfortunately, the time spent on the offensive yielded minimal results.
As per usual, Saydee got his team moving forward after a nervy start to the match, brutally nutmegging a defender in the 10th minute, then later sliding a pass to Lawson, whose shot forced a save from the Harpos goalkeeper.
Lawson was a bright spot in the flailing attack for City, earning another chance on goal in the 26th minute after a slick cutback, but again the Harpos keeper came up with the save.
City hit the locker room for halftime in a scoreless affair.
“Obviously we dominated, whatever that means. We had a ton of chances,” Caesar said. “I need them to be a little more courageous, a little bit more daring in the final third. I thought we were passing and moving great.
“But you’re going to put people to sleep doing that. We need to take some chances. In the end of it, we’re not in a bad spot.”
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Harpos Open Cup hero Shane Wheeler opened the scoring, curling an effort into the top corner, beating goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher to give the visitors a surprising lead.
City continued to mount offensive pressure, and a corner in the 68th minute off the head of Moorman provided a clear chance, but the quality effort went wide.
Forward Rafa Mentzingen made his debut for the club on Saturday, and looked impressive. Mentzingen added a much needed spark of energy on the wing for City, getting on the ball with regularity, and running straight at defenders with the intensity he was known so well for at Lansing United.
A foul on Mentzingen allowed a restart to be played to the opposite of the pitch, putting the ball on Jeff Adkins’ foot, and after a few patented step-overs, his shot beat the Harpos goalkeeper to the left side, tying the match at 1-1.
Adkins was the catalyst of the final two City efforts on goal. The first, a free kick from 20 yards out, would have beaten the goalkeeper, but was just inches over the crossbar. In stoppage time, Adkins sent another free kick into the 18-yard box, but Seb Harris’ header was sent wide of goal.
After what felt like 12 minutes of additional time, the whistle blew on another draw for Le Rouge.
“Older guys like Sebby [Harris] and Jeff [Adkins] put it on the line, they know what it’s about, they just have their limits,” Pirmann said. “Some of the other guys like Wilfried [Williams] and Elliott [Bentley] have been here long enough to know that this is how it’s going to play out.”
Goalkeeping in the U.S Open Cup
We all remember the heroics of goalkeeper Evan Louro that were needed in 2016 when City last took on the Michigan Bucks. A big part of that victory was fueled by Louro keeping his team in the match.
It’s looking like Steinwascher is going to be the goalkeeper that Pirmann goes with when his club hits the field on Wednesday. Despite the big shoes the keeper has to fill, Pirmann is confident in his ability.
“Fernando [Pina] doesn’t arrive for another week, Nate [Steinwascher] and Pina are good buddies and thrive off of each other, so we need that competition because it pushes the group,” he said. “Nate is fine, I’m not worried about Nate moving forward, he knows the field, he knows how we play and he’s a great leader.
“He’ll be good to go.”
A Return for the Ages
Last week, after a conversation with Caesar, I made the prediction that City’s front office was trying to clear a star forward with U.S. Soccer for the start of the season. A player that will make supporters very happy. I predicted that this player may be Will Mellors-Blair.
“Definitely nothing for the first week of the season, and then we have the friendly, so maybe end of the month,” Pirmann said about the potential signing, without giving away who it is. “We want him, I invited him [whoever that may be] to play tonight, even without the clearance of U.S. Soccer because it’s a friendly.
“It’s also his timeline, he’s been out for a while so he doesn’t want to play in games quite yet.”
Could this be WMB? Are we going to see the return of Tyrone Mondi? Is it going to be someone else from our past?
Only time will tell.
