RIFC left it late but secured a point on the road against Detroit City FC Saturday evening, with the game finishing 1-1. The draw means we haven’t lost in 8 games now, while Detroit City are winless in their last 6. The game was a great advert for the USL on a national network. Both teams really went for it and created plenty of chances. Add in the exciting ending, and there isn’t really much more the league could have asked for in a national showcase.

Before I get into the on field action, I have to talk about the viewing experience. I caught the game at Providence Brewing Company with the rest of the Tide Talk guys. Matt and Ryan did a fantastic job with their first in-person live show. It was a great setup and we got perhaps the best slides yet from Ryan. I got to hang out with my fellow bloggers as well as several other RIFC fans. And maybe best of all, I had some great beers. I’m even drinking a GOOOOOOOOOAL lager right now as I write this. I can’t wait to go back and I plan on being there Wednesday night for our next match. More on that in the Prematch Lookout. For now, let’s recap and take a look at Saturday’s match.

We set up in our usual 3-5-2 with the same lineup we’ve been going with recently:

Interestingly, Detroit City matched this with a 3-5-2 of their own. I don’t care enough about them to create a graphic, so just trust me (yes, I’m aware these take 30 seconds to make).

Detroit City started off as the better team in the first half and had a great chance in the 3rd minute. Elvis Amoh had his shot saved by Koke before Daniel Espeleta fired the rebound over the crossbar. We also threatened early with a chance of our own in the 8th minute. JJ Williams took a great touch to get around his defender and fired a shot in from the left side of the box, but Nate Steinwascher made the save and we weren’t able to get to the rebound.

Detroit City had the better of the chances for the rest of the first 20 minutes, highlighted by a great passing move in the 12th minute that ended in a shot from Espeleta that was blocked by Yao. They also had a “penalty shout” in the 20th minute when Rhys Williams got into the box from his RWB position. There was contact with Frank Nodarse, but it looked like it was initiated by Williams and he was definitely looking for a penalty.

Although Detroit City were more dangerous early on, we were the better team for the rest of the first half. JJ had a shot blocked by Detroit City defender Michael Bryant in the 23rd minute. We had another great team move in the 30th minute that nearly resulted in a goal and Stephen Turnbull was put through on goal in the 43rd minute, but his shot trickled wide of the post. Grant Stoneman also had a late first half chance from a corner as he found himself free at the far post, but his shot was blocked and eventually grabbed by Steinwascher.

As you can see from all of those chances, the first half was really back and forth. I would attribute Detroit City’s good start to the fact that they matched us tactically. You have to wonder if that threw us off a little bit. I know it threw me off. But as I said in the Lookout, Detroit City change their lineup all the time. It just comes with the territory when you play against them.

A couple of things stuck out to me in that first half. I felt like early on we didn’t play the ball long to JJ enough. We seemed content to try to play out from the back. We did eventually start playing the ball long a little more often and I think that helped keep Detroit City on their toes. Albert Dikwa also found himself out wide a little too much for my liking. To his credit though, he did help create that 23rd minute chance for JJ. We deserve a lot of praise for playing some great soccer with some beautiful passing moves. That certainly made Khano happy, as that is the way I think he envisions the team playing long term. ‘

For as well as we did weathering Detroit City’s initial pressure and putting ourselves on the front foot in the first half, we couldn’t keep that momentum going into the second half. Detroit City were the better team for almost the entire rest of the game. They put us under pressure and we relied on trying to create chances in transition. We weren’t able to create anything significant and Detroit City ramped up the pressure after 70 minutes. Maxi Rodriguez smashed a shot off the crossbar in the 74th minute and just 3 minutes later, Detroit City would have their breakthrough via Ben Morris. It was the result of some good passing by Detroit City but also some poor defending on our part. The ball pinged around just outside and then inside our box and we couldn’t clear it away. It eventually fell to Morris who took his chance well. With the momentum and crowd in Detroit City’s favor, it looked for a little while like our unbeaten run was going to end. It even crossed my mind that this might be the first blog that I write after a loss. However, this team had other ideas.

One of the benefits for us fans of this being on CBS was that we got to hear from both coaches during the game. Khano was interviewed in the 83rd minute and asked what it would take for the team to get back in the game. He told the reporter that there would be another chance and that we just had to take it. This would prove prophetic, as 10 minutes later we would have our equalizer. Clay Holstad picked up the ball on the right touchline and dribbled in towards the middle of the field, just outside the box. He then unleashed a rocket with his “weaker” left foot that gave the goalkeeper no chance. It was a strike that won’t help dispel the rumors that Clay only scores bangers. 2 minutes later, we almost had an incredible winner. Joe Brito attempted a bicycle kick after a poor touch put the ball up in the air. The shot ended up going harmlessly wide, but beers would have been flying at Providence Brewing had it gone in. The game would end minutes later and both teams walked away with a point.

Some of the biggest takeaways for me in this one were related to our substitutions. Zach Herivaux came on for Marc Ybarra at halftime. To me, this seems to cement Zach as competition for Ybarra as opposed to someone who will play with him. While he came on for Holstad in the Birmingham match, this is the second match in a row where Zach has replaced Ybarra. I’ve said before that I think the two could play together, but it’s a luxury for us to have that much depth in midfield. I’d much rather be debating who should start rather than worrying about not having someone in those spots. I also found the substitutions of Angking and McGlynn for Kwizera and Turnbull in the 77th minute interesting. The move pushed Noah Fuson to LWB and Holstad to RWB. It seemed bizarre at the time but you have to trust Khano at this point. It all worked out in the end as it was from the right wing where Holstad picked up the ball before cutting in to get his goal. Lastly, it’s really unfortunate that Angking got hurt and had to be subbed off just 7 minutes after coming on. He’s the perfect player to come in late when we’re chasing a game and that’s exactly what Khano brought him on to do. While he hasn’t been a starter for us and we do have that midfield depth, I still think we’ll miss his presence in those situations where we need a late goal.

On the balance of play in this one, the point felt deserved. We had some great chances in the first half and while we weren’t as good in the second half, it was the never say die attitude that this team has developed over this recent run that was the difference. During this 8 game unbeaten run, we came back twice against Indy Eleven to get a draw and came back from 1-0 down last game against North Carolina to win 2-1. This team is showing that it’s never over until the final whistle. It’s such a stark contrast from what this team was earlier in the season. As I’ve said before, we’re seeing losses turn into draws and draws turn into wins. This most certainly would have been a loss a couple months ago.

We have a quick turnaround with a match against Indy Eleven on Wednesday night. For more on that, keep an eye out on the Tide Talk socials for my Prematch Lookout as well as the Away End. And for more on this match, check out Timmy’s Player Ratings. It’s going to be a busy week for us bloggers and we appreciate your support. All that’s left to say now is, UP THE TIDE!