July 6, 2022
USL Championship League Match
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

A lot of harpoons, not enough stuck

The first mid-week home match of the USL Championship season brings Hartford Athletic to Keyworth.

We visited the 5th state of the union on April 23rd, bringing home 3 points on a goal in the final play of the match by Captain Steve Carroll. Hartford sits in 10th place with 4 wins, 3 draws, and 9 losses, while City holds 4th place with 8 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses.

Detroit supporters recalled a Hartford franchise from the past in their heckling. The Hartford Whalers played in the World Hockey Association from 1972-1979, then became an NHL franchise in 1979 and remained until their move to Raleigh, NC to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.

HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Starting XI

Yannik Oetti – GK
Waid Yacoubou – D
Joel Johnson – D
Tom Brewitt – D
Younes Boudadi – D
Danny Barrera – M
Conor McGlynn – M
Andre Lewis – M
Luke Prpa – M
Prince Saydee – F
Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. – F

DETROIT CITY FC
Starting XI

Front Row, Left to Right

Deklan Wynne – D
Pato Botello Faz – F
Antoine Hoppenot – F
Abdoulaye Diop – M
Brad Dunwell – M

Back Row, Left to Right
Michael Bryant – D
Connor Rutz – M
Karl Ouimette – D
Devon Amoo-Mensah – D
Nate Steinwascher – GK
Stephen Carroll – D/Captain

Matthew Thompson was the head referee for tonight, his 7th time in the USL Championship this season and 62nd match since 2019. In the previous six matches this year, he has issued 37 yellow cards and the red card has remained in his pocket. Art Arustamyan and Collin Little ran the sidelines.

City sailed out of the gate at full throttle, creating early chances. A cross in from the left side by Deklan Wynne in the 3rd minute almost found Pato who was sandwiched between two Hartford defenders in the box. In the 5th minute, Karl Ouimette sent the ball long down the right channel. Antoine Hoppenot caught up to it, cut around a defender, then charged in the box where he sliced a shot just wide of the post.

After absorbing the early pressure, Hartford regrouped. In the 7th minute, a series of sharp passes sent Prince Saydee through and on goal, forcing Nate Steinwascher to make a diving save, palming the ball away with his right hand.

The tempo slowed as the teams held each other in check. In the 16th minute, Walid Yacoubou (Tulu) took the feet from out under Devon Amoo-Mensah at the midfield stripe, forcing Referee Thompson to show his yellow card for the 38th time this season.

In the 20th minute, City broke through. Karl Ouimette, cutting across the halfway line, delivered a pass to Michael Bryant on the right side. As he moved toward the goal, Michael touched the ball beyond a defender which Antoine Hoppenot ran onto. With the space disappearing near the end line, Antoine sent a cross to the other side of goal. It fell to Deklan Wynne who didn’t let it hit the ground, striking it on frame. Pato in the crease, deflected it past the Hartford keeper, and City went up 1-nil.

Hartford maintained possession, seeking out an equalizer, however City forced them to control the ball away from goal. After a quarter hour of this, it opened up again. A scramble in City’s box in the 37th minute created a dangerous opportunity for Hartford, but then a minute later, City marched up field and Hoppenot fired a shot that sailed just wide.

In the 39th minute, as a cross came into the City box, Steve Carroll stretched to clear it, then went to the pitch, grabbing the back of his leg in pain. After tending to him on the ground, a switch had to be made, and Rhys Williams subbed in for the captain. As the final minutes of the half ticked by, Hartford turned up the pressure knowing that the anchor of City’s defense had been pulled. But Nate Steinwascher, now donning the captain’s armband, made a couple of key saves – one on a hard shot aimed at the upper corner of goal.

Possession in the first half was Hartford’s with 56% to City’s 44%. Hartford had six shots with three of them on target, while City had one shot on target out of four. That single City deflected shot on goal by Pato was the difference on the scoreboard at halftime.

With the June Prideraiser at a close, representatives of the club, the Northern Guard Supporters, and Ally presented a check in the amount of $45,000 to the Ruth Ellis Center during the halftime break.

As the second half began, Hartford subbed out Prince Saydee for Peter-Lee Vassell. The change provided a dividend. In the 57th minute, Andre Lewis lobbed a ball from just inside the center stripe to Vassell. The Hartford forward took it into the box, drawing two City defenders. Falling to ground, Vassell was able to push it to an open Lewis who fired it past Nate, leveling the match.

Ten minutes after the goal, and with play becoming sluggish, a likely after-effect from the cross-country trip from City’s weekend in Vegas, changes were made. Francis Atuahene and Maxi Rodriquez stepped in for Antoine Hoppenot and Brad Dunwell for City, and Juan Obregon Jr. was replaced by Corey Hertzog for Hartford. Three minutes later, Hartford pulled Luka Prpa and put in Ariel Martinez.

Francis Atuahene’s addition brought some energy and threat to City’s attack, but the ball could not find its way into the back of the net. City racked up 16 shots in the second half, with 3 on target. The chances for a match-winning goal were there. Hartford made one more substitution. Andre Lewis trotted off the pitch to let Rashawn Dally in the 82nd minute. Ariel Martinez was shown a yellow in the 90th minute.

Player of the Match
Abdoulaye Diop

Connecting on 89% of his 55 passes, and playing strong in the midfield, Laye was named player of the match.

STATS

Detroit City FC 1, Hartford Athletic 1
DCFC: Pato Botello Faz (Deklan Wynne) 20′
Hartford: Andre Lewis (Peter-Lee Vassell) 57′

ATTENDANCE: 5,517

Possession: DCFC 57.4, Hartford 42.6%
Offsides: DCFC 1, Hartford 0
Corners: DCFC 6, Hartford 6
Passes: DCFC 403, Hartford 528
Passing Accuracy: DCFC 79.4%, Hartford 84.5%
Shots: DCFC 20, Hartford 9
Shots on Target: DCFC 4, Hartford 4
Blocked Shots: DCFC 6, Hartford 1
Fouls: DCFC 7, Hartford 16
Yellow Cards: DCFC 0, Hartford 2 (Walid Yacoubou (Tulu), Ariel Martinez)
Red Cards: DCFC 0, Hartford 0