League

CIN CITY
Spectators: 7209 (Terracing: 5659, Seating: 1450, VIP seats: 100) FC Cincinnati's Frank Simons started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Aurelio Cooper sent away a hard shot on goal in the 3rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Aurelio Cooper fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 6th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Milan Bland having to interfere. Frank Simons fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 7th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rigoberto Dawkins having to interfere. Rigoberto Dawkins made an important save on a dangerous shot by Graig Foote in the 20th minute. Murray Spence sent away a hard shot on goal in the 21st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 23rd minute, Murray Spence got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 25th minute Frank Simons shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Rigoberto Dawkins saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 28thth minute of the game Frank Simons who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Detroit FC's Rigoberto Dawkins was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Murray Spence sent away a hard shot on goal in the 30th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Aurelio Cooper received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 33rd minute. Milan Bland tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Murray Spence charged in rather forcefully in the 38th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Murray Spence the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, FC Cincinnati's Graig Foote got a free kick in the 40th minute. FC Cincinnati's Milan Bland played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Lyle Fleming in the 44th minute of play. In the 46th match minute, FC Cincinnati was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Merlin Sandoval to maneuver through the defense. After 47 played minutes, Detroit FC's Timmy Vogel shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Milan Bland came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Detroit FC reached it. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 0-0 after a close first half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Lyle Fleming made a kick off. After a defensive mix-up in Detroit FC's zone, Frank Simons stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Rigoberto Dawkins came out of the goal and Frank Simons tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. If Lyle Fleming had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 57th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 65th minute, Frank Simons left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The FC Cincinnati fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. FC Cincinnati's Milan Bland played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Lyle Fleming in the 69th minute of play. Frank Simons spun around in front of the goal 78 minutes in the game, and got away a shot that, to his disappointment, went to the left of Detroit FC's goal. Detroit FC's Ted Ferreira got a good chance for a goal in the 81st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 86th minute, Frank Simons ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Rigoberto Dawkins was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-0. If Frank Simons had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 91st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 95th minute Murray Spence shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Rigoberto Dawkins saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. FC Cincinnati had won after a very even match.