DETROIT CITY FC MUSTERS ONE POINT IN TWO-MATCH WEEKEND

Detroit City FC had an underwhelming weekend in National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) play, losing in Grand Rapids, 5-2, and drawing Lansing United, 2-2, at Keyworth Stadium.

As the final score would indicate, Friday night’s trip to the west side of the state was a disappointment for DCFC. City held more of the ball and created more scoring chances, but could not defend Grand Rapids’ quick-strike counter-attacks.

Jeff Adkins (Butler) was in excellent form all weekend, leading the way for Le Rouge. He scored a goal in each game and won the M1 Imaging Man of the Match on Friday night.  Adkins’ ability on the ball and his nose for goal are encouraging signs going forward.

Down 3-1, Dave Edwardson’s 59th minute goal brought new hope for a possible late push to tie. However, two more goals from GRFC would leave the game lopsided by the end.

“It’s a tough one to evaluate,” head coach Ben Pirmann said following Friday’sloss. “Though, in a very weird way, we played our best game of the season, in terms of style of play and possession and passes and chances.

With the pressure to perform mounting, Sunday evening’s one-point result didn’t have a great aftertaste, either. DCFC, again, enjoyed a majority of the possession and the chances, to little avail.

Tommy Catalano (Oakland) returned to the lineup to score the only goal of the first half.  Catalano, Adkins, Cyrus Saydee (Michigan State), and Sunday’sM1 Imaging Man of the Man, Danny Deakin (South Carolina) were strong in attack all game long, keeping the pressure on Lansing United to defend.

Adkins retook the lead for his team, bashing in a rebound opportunity in the 79th minute.  Four minutes later, Lansing leveled the score again.

“You know, honestly, we just have to keep the ball out of the back of the net,” Pirmann said after Sunday’s draw. “If we get a shutout in this league, I think we’ll win the game.”

The single point picked up in the standings leaves Detroit City FC in sixth place in the NPSL Great Lakes West standings. With only six points in six games played, the Boys in Rouge have some ground to make up in the six remaining NPSL matches.

City gets back to it this coming Sunday, June 17, hosting Kalamazoo FC at 5 p.m. at Keyworth Stadium.