Rhode Island FC visited Keyworth Stadium on Saturday to take on Detroit City FC. The two teams entered the match equal on points, each with 28. Because Detroit City won the first meeting between the two teams on June 8th, they entered the game in sixth place (with a game in hand) and Rhode Island in seventh. For the third time in as many games… this was the biggest match of Rhode Island’s inaugural season so far.

Both teams fortune’s had changed significantly since their last meeting on June 8th. Rhode Island found themselves unbeaten in their last seven games – five of those away from home – while Detroit City FC hadn’t won in their last five matches. In fact, they’d failed to score in their last two matches, including a midweek loss to a horrifically bad Hartford Athletic team.

For 16 minutes it looked like Rhode Island FC’s seven game unbeaten run was going to come to an end, after Ben Morris of Detroit City FC scored in the 77th minute. However, Clay Holstad had something to say about it as he added a third goal (another absolute missile – which seems to be the only goal he knows how to score) to his season total, to equalize in the 93rd minute.

Some will say that Rhode Island “stole a point” on the road, but that was not the story of this game at all. RIFC dominated for long stretches of the match – particularly in the first half, where more clinical finishing would’ve seen them ahead by at least two or three goals.

If you haven’t already, you can check out Matt and Ryan’s post match reaction podcast.

Here are my player ratings for Rhode Island FC vs. Detroit City FC on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024.

Koke Vegas (GK) – 6/10

This could’ve been a very different game if Koke didn’t make a huge save on a chance from Elvis Amoh just three minutes into the match to keep it 0-0. His long ball distribution was underwhelming… but it doesn’t help that Detroit City has a very large and very experienced back line.

Frank Nodarse (D) – 8/10

Nodarse continues to impress and has been on an unbelievable run of defensive form for about two months now. He led all players in several defensive categories including his 14 defensive actions, four successful tackles, and winning eight of his eleven duels. He also led all RIFC players with three interceptions and six clearances.

Karifa Yao (D) – 6/10

It was a bit of an under-the-radar game for Yao (which can be a good thing for a central defender). He made a fantastic tackle in the 62nd minute to break up a dangerous scoring chance for Detroit City, and blocked two shots as well. He made a good effort at blocking the eventual DCFC goal as well, but it managed to get past him.

Grant Stoneman (D) – 7/10

Grant Stoneman has immediately re-solidified himself in this lineup as not only a serviceable defender, but an integral part of our build up play. For evidence of this, look no further than his team-high 43 completed passes, including 10 passes into the final third.

Clay Holstad (MF) – 8/10

Clay equalized the game in the 93rd minute with another ridiculous strike that will surely be his third contender for Goal of the Week so far this season. Beyond the goal, it was another strong showing for Clay, and the second match in a row where he led all players in ball recoveries with 12.

Marc Ybarra (MF) – 5/10

Ybarra was having a solid game until he was subbed off at half time. This was most likely a combination of keeping Ybarra fresh for our upcoming matches, and rewarding Herivaux for his contributions in our last two matches.

I’m happy to say that, though Ybarra took just one corner in this match, it was delivered well beyond the near post and actually led to a very dangerous chance for a backpedaling Grant Stoneman at the back post.

Jojea Kwizera (MF) – 6/10

Kwizera was very involved on both ends of the pitch. He was beating his man regularly moving up the left flank and led all players with four chances created for the second week in a row. He also chipped in defensively with four ball recoveries.

Stephen Turnbull (MF) – 6/10

Turnbull appeared much more active and involved in this game than last week against NCFC. Much like his left wing counterpart in Kwizera, he was involved on both ends of the pitch and had the second most defensive actions of all RIFC players with 9.

He failed to convert out best chance of the game in 43rd minute. He was alone with the keeper, off of a pass from Noah Fuson, and he put it wide left. Of course, you’d like to see him be more clinical here, but he deserves some credit for being in the scoring position in the first place (keeping in mind that Turnbull has been a defender for the majority of his career).

Noah Fuson (MF) – 5/10

On paper this was a weaker showing from Fuson than what we’ve seen the last few weeks. We’ll get the bad out of the way and say that yes, he was dispossessed five times, and it did often feel like he was trying to do too much with the ball. He also lost a game high 12 duels – and the majority of them were ground duels. His corner kick delivery wasn’t great, but that’s not usually his role.

Despite it all, I still felt that he continued to play the 10 role effectively and create dangerous chances for our team (even if he wasn’t directly credited with some of them).

JJ Williams (F) – 6/10

JJ had a solid game and was more active and involved in the attack this week than last. In just 66 minutes he had four touches in the DCFC box, which is more than he had in 90 minutes last week. I think we all want to see JJ shooting more as well, and he did that tonight with three shots.

Albert Dikwa (F) – 6/10

Dikwa, like JJ, also had four touches in the DCFC box and seemed more active tonight than last match. He took only two shots, but he also took up some dangerous positions on the right wing and made a combination of crosses and ground passes from there that created scoring chances for his teammates.

Subs

Zachary Herivaux (MF) (46th minute) – 5/10

There was nothing to dislike about Herivaux’s performance tonight. He does offer a different quality in the midfield than Ybarra (who he replaced at half time) as he makes more progressive runs and is overall more involved in the attack. He still operates as a metronome-like midfielder though, with his 94% pass accuracy in this match.

Mark Doyle (F) (66th minute) – 5/10

There was not a huge amount to evaluate Doyle on even though he played for almost 30 minutes.

Connor McGlynn (MF) (77th minute) – 5/10

I really did not like the substitution to bring on McGlynn and move Holstad out to the right wing back position. I’ll be stubborn and say I’m still not in favor of that type of substitution, even if it absolutely worked out this time and put Clay in a position to score his equalizing goal. 🤡

Isaac Angking (MF) (77th minute) – 5/10

Unfortunately, Isaac only played 7 minutes in his substitute appearance before coming off the field due to a non-contact injury.

I really enjoy his cameo appearances so wish the best for him – but it is a position where we have the luxury of many good depth options.

Joe Brito (MF) (84th minute) – 6/10

Joe Brito made two marks on this game: 1.) he technically is credited with the assist on Clay’s goal (but let’s admit Clay did all of the heavy lifting there), and 2.) in the dying minutes of the game Brito attempted a bicycle kick to recover after a poor first touch in the box. It would have given us the lead and he actually caught it quite well. It didn’t miss the top right corner of the net by all that much.

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For reference, my rating scale is as follows:

• 1/10 – Abysmal. You might as well have me on the pitch.
• 2/10 – Very bad
• 3/10 – Bad
• 4/10 – Below Average
• 5/10 – Average. The player didn’t necessarily stand out, but did their job.
• 6/10 – Good
• 7/10 – Very good
• 8/10 – Great
• 9/10 – Outstanding
• 10/10 – Transcendent performance. Watch out, because Real Madrid may come knocking.