Detroit City Wire

Detroit City FC faced Pumas UNAM of Mexico’s Liga MX in an international friendly match at Keyworth Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 7,000 spectators. Head Coach Danny Dichio made several changes to the starting lineup, with Nate Steinwascher returning as the goalkeeper. The defensive backline consisted of Alex Villanueva, Abdi Salim, Stephen Carroll, and Matt Sheldon. Midfielders included Dominic Gasso, Ryan Williams, and Daniel Espeleta. The attacking trio featured Connor Rutz, Elvis Amoh, and Yazeed Matthews.

Pumas dominated the early tempo. In the 7th minute, Steinwascher made two crucial saves to keep the score level. Detroit City had their first significant chance in the 14th minute when a shot from Espeleta hit the post following a corner kick.

Detroit's first substitution came in the 31st minute with Maxi Rodriguez replacing Stephen Carroll. Another key save by Steinwascher occurred in the 36th minute off a curling shot from Pumas outside the box.

A promising opportunity for Detroit emerged in the 39th minute when Matthews broke into the box and passed to Rodriguez, who then set up Amoh for a shot that narrowly missed above the bar. The teams entered halftime tied at 0-0 after an evenly contested first half.

In the second half, Ben Morris replaced Connor Rutz for Detroit. The breakthrough came in the 53rd minute when Ryan Williams delivered a cross from a free kick that Abdi Salim headed into the near post, giving Detroit City a 1-0 lead.

Pumas' Pablo Bennevendo received a yellow card in the 58th minute. Detroit made further substitutions in the 63rd and 68th minutes: James Murphy and Brett Levis replaced Maxi Rodriguez and Abdi Salim; Victor Bezerra and Louis Sala came on for Elvis Amoh and Ben Morris respectively.

Dominic Gasso was booked for handball in the 72nd minute, while Pumas' Lisandro Magallán received their second yellow card of the night for a late tackle in the 76th minute.

In subsequent changes for Detroit City FC Academy player Bennett Quijand replaced Yazeed Matthews in the 81st minute and Khaled Jamoukha substituted Ryan Williams in the 85th minute.

Detroit City FC will resume USL Championship play against Birmingham Legion FC at Keyworth Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.detcityfc.com/tickets.

For more information about Detroit City FC, visit detcityfc.com and follow @DetroitCityFC on X and Facebook or @detroitcityfootballclub on Instagram.

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