In a game with 27 fouls, six yellow cards, 20 shots and 1004 fans in attendance, FC Buffalo came one goal shy of a point in their last game before the playoffs, losing to Detroit City FC, 2-1, at Robert E. Rich All-High Stadium.
The win gave Detroit City its first Rust Belt Derby title. FC Buffalo finished second in the three-team in-season competition won by AFC Cleveland in its inaugural 2012 run.
Detroit City (11-1-0) took a very early lead when a short-played free kick left DCFC midfielder Jeff Adkins alone and with a cannon as he blasted home from more than 20 yards out in the 9th minute.
The score stayed 1-0 til the break but each team put another mark further down the scoresheet as Ryan Walter for FC Buffalo (8-0-4) and David Edwardson for DCFC each picked up yellows. That wouldn’t be the end of the colors as Ian Mort, Bobby Ross and Chris Walter were all shown yellows in the second half as well as Josh Rogers for Detroit.
The Wolves came out of the halftime break and almost immediately knotted the score at 1 when Andy Tiedt (Akron, N.Y. // University at Buffalo) pulled a crafty move to feed Ian Mort (Rochester, N.Y. // SUNY Geneseo) for a slick side-footed goal in the 47th minute. With the assist, Tiedt now has the most assists and points in FC Buffalo history with 10 goals, 7 assists and 27 points in four seasons with the team.
Both Tiedt and Mort came within inches of putting FCB ahead in the ensuing moments, with the former managing to hit both posts by the time the match was through. Unfortunately, it was a massive FCB miscalculation that put Le Rouge on the score sheet as a poorly-headed pass found DCFC substitution Ugohukwu Uche, who beat FCB keeper Kareem Gray hard and low. Gray (Gasparillo, Trinidad // Canisius College) made a number of sensational games before and after the deciding goal.
The Blitzers are now off until the Great Lakes Division Tournament in Detroit next weekend, which won the right to host the tournament back in January at the league meetings. FCB is the No. 2 seed and plays No. 3 seed Erie on Saturday, 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 5 p.m. Detroit City/AFC Cleveland match at Cass Tech Stadium in downtown Detroit.
Before the game, FCB announced details for its first ever youth soccer camp. CLICK HERE to sign your kid up.
Email: wolf@fcbuffalo.org
