Detroit City FC still scoreless at home, falls to Rio Grande Valley 1-0

Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News

Hamtramck — Chance after chance, Rio Grande Valley was in the way.

And when the final whistle blew on a rainy Saturday night at Keyworth Stadium, Detroit City FC could not escape that simple fact in what would end a 1-0 loss for Le Rouge, the team's second straight.

DCFC (1-0-3) looked as though it was determined to grab an equalizer after giving up a first-half lead, but 12 shots and three on target weren't enough to salvage a point as each chance was eventually squandered. The game, originally scheduled for 4 p.m., was delayed because of inclement weather, which flooded the Keyworth Stadium pitch on Saturday morning.

DCFC defender Matt Lewis (15) kicks the ball away from Indy midfielder Aodhan Quinn (14) in the second half.

180 minutes have come and gone — and DCFC is still looking for its first home goal of the season. Three of DCFC's four matches thus far have ended in a 1-0 loss.

"They sat in and changed their game plan a little bit — certainly when they scored — they changed their game plan to sit in and just counterattack," DCFC head coach Trevor James said.

"Obviously, it made the game very difficult to break them down. We keep saying the same thing. It's about creating chances and putting chances away. It's what we keep working at and it's something we need to get right if we're going to win games."

RGV (1-3-0), which secured its first win of the season, used its pace to create problems for DCFC all night. In the 22nd minute, Wilmer Cabrera Jr. successfully played a ball through for Ricardo Ruiz, who cut left and forced DCFC goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher to challenge for a huge save.

RGV was more than happy to allow DCFC possession in the middle third. The Toros neutralized DCFC any time it tried to enter the final third, then flipped the ball forward to a set of speedy forwards.

The dam could only hold so long, though. RGV took the game's first lead just one minute later. Toros midfielder Taylor Davila stole an errant pass from Rhys Williams to Tommy McCabe, and within a few touches, also beat Stephen Carroll before driving the ball home from outside the box to make it 1-0 in the 23rd.

"They had a lot of pace and speed up front and you have to be careful with the ball," James said. "As it turned out, we turned the ball over too many times, and we got punished for it in the end."

Halftime came at a perfect time for RGV, which gave DCFC a free kick on the left wing when Jonathan Ricketts was shown a yellow card in the 44th minute. Minutes prior, Skage Simonsen received a yellow card for his actions in the box while trying to create a chance.

Newly signed striker Ben Morris made his club debut Saturday, starting in place of the suspended Yazeed Matthews, who received a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards against Indy Eleven. Wingback Oniel Fisher, who was announced by the club this week, also made his debut. He subbed in for Williams during the 64th minute.

"(Fisher) looks sharper and his touches are sharper, and his feet are quick ... so to get him a half-hour tonight was good. We wanted to get him on the field," James said. "Ben Morris, I thought he started very well. First half was quite effective. His hold-up play was good. His link-up play was good.

"But we want to get him in the box, on the end of the things, and we didn't really give him any opportunities to do that tonight."

Steinwascher made another huge save in the 50th minute. Cabrera came down the left side with speed and rifled a shot that was stopped by the hands of Steinwascher. His biggest save came a few minutes later, when Ruiz was played a short corner kick at the top of the box. Ruiz cut left and aimed for the lower corner, but an outreached Steinwascher got his hand to it while nearly colliding with the post. He ended the night with three saves.

"It keeps you in the game at one-nil, and it gives you the opportunity, as we saw late on ... for one of them to actually fall the right way, and you get something out of the game, you get a point at least out of the game," James said.

"We probably deserved (a point) from the performance, but you don't get a point from the performance."

In the 63rd minute, perfect service from Williams made its way to Ballard on a run in the box, but Ballard couldn't muster enough on the header and it was saved by RGV keeper Tyler Deric.

DCFC got one of its biggest chances of the game in the 73rd minute. Michael Bryant sent a free kick into the box, and as Matt Lewis let it pass, Carroll came in right behind him and got his foot on the ball, sending it just over the crossbar.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @nolanbianchi