DoHaeng Michael Kitchen

Human Created

June 4, 2017: at FC Indiana Lions (NPSL Regular Season)

dohaeng

6 comments

February 16, 2018

June 4, 2017
Legacy Sports Club, Lafayette, IN
NPSL Regular Season Match
FC Indiana Lions 1, Detroit City FC 3

DCFC Shawn Lawson (Tyrone Mondi) 7′
FCIL Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu 10′
DCFC Bakie Goodman (Shawn Lawson) 48′
DCFC Indiana Own Goal 64′

I wasn’t going to go to this match.  On Saturday, I looked back and discovered I had not missed a Detroit City FC NPSL regular season match since June 26, 2015, when Le Rouge played in Fort Pitt.  I haven’t missed a home match, ever, and with the emergence of teams in Michigan, I hadn’t missed an away match for almost two years – twenty straight matches.  There was no reason to let a streak break due to laziness.  There was nothing preventing me from making the five-hour, one-way drive, across a time zone, to see my club play.  I decided to make the trip.

I stopped at the nearest gas station to fuel up.  I interpreted the rabbit that occupied the curb as I filled the tank to be an omen of good luck.

Several hours, and a couple wrong turns later, I made my way through the wilderness to the Legacy Sports Club.

Wow.  From Friday night, playing before 5,154 fans at Keyworth Stadium nestled within the City of Hamtramck, to 154 fans (and I’m being generous) on a field hidden in the farmland of Lafayette, Indiana, northeast of Purdue University.  This is life in the NPSL.

Shawn Lawson put us on the board early.  In the 7th minute, he broke in on the net and was wide open for Tyrone Mondi’s pass from the right side.

One – Nil.

Unfortunately, just three minutes later, an Indiana player fed the ball into the box, where another Indiana player (sorry, no line-up or program was provided to the paying fans by this Green Acres organization) fired a shot.  Keeper Colin Miller made a diving hand save, but the ball ended up on the foot of  Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu, to equalize.  Rather than celebrate with the handful of folks cheering his team on, Ahmed-Shaibu thought that taunting the Rouge Rovers was the thing to do.  Really?  The man must not have ever heard of Detroit.

The Rouge Rovers put almost as many supporters in the bleachers as Indiana fans, and were infinitely louder.  This didn’t sit well with our host.  First, we were told to stop swearing.  The Plan B songbook was opened, and chants like the Barney Song found their way into the playlist.  Later, we were instructed not to make any noise.  What?  Didn’t the owner of this new team in the league realize that this was the NPSL, not the PGA?

We did Tetris, anyway.

City had some chances to regain the lead, but the teams went into halftime tied at a goal apiece.

Just as the half was coming to an end, dark clouds rolled in, and with the final whistle, the players headed into the locker rooms in a downpour.

Now, whoever was in charge of this team from Green Acres, threatened to call the police on the Rouge Rovers.  However, it was pointed out to him that there were no rules or code of conduct posted on the team’s website (of which, they didn’t have), on the tickets of admission (of which there was none), or at the field.  The Rouge Rovers adhere to their host’s Code of Conduct when they hit the road to support City.  But when there’s no Code of Conduct…

It was rumored that the guy in charge had spoken to the referees about kicking out the Rouge Rovers, to which the officials said that that was not their job.

A lightning strike created an additional thirty-minute delay, which provided more time for some Rouge Rover shenanigans.  It started with a routine of the Hokey-Pokey.

As the ball boys (of elementary school age), halted their half-time game on the pitch due to the rain, they left the ball behind, allowing Rouge Rovers to provide some half-time entertainment.

The boys returned, not to play with the Rouge Rovers, but to reclaim their ball and run away with it.

It should also be mentioned that a game of duck-duck-goose took place.

As the sky cleared, and the humidity rose, the second half commenced.

It didn’t take long for City to strike.  In the 48th minute, as they played out from the back, David Edwardson, from midfield, sent a ball down to the right of the goal to Shawn Lawson, who then passed it to Bakie Goodman in front of the goal.  He chipped it past the Indiana keeper, to give City a 2-1 lead.

In the 64th minute, Colin Miller sent a goal kick downfield.  A City player headed it further on, where another City player chested down.  He passed it forward, toward the left corner, where Derrick Otim sent in a cross that deflected off an Indiana defender, into the goal, to conclude the scoring.

The first weekend after the Glentoran match, and City took 6 points out of 6.

And I’m glad I didn’t break my streak.  Twenty-one, and counting.

 

 

 

June 2, 2017: vs Grand Rapids FC (NPSL Regular Season)

dohaeng

3 comments

February 14, 2018

June 2, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Detroit City FC 3, Grand Rapids FC 1
Attendance: 5,154

GRFC Greg Timmer (Cam Cavanagh) 28′
DCFC Louis Dargent (Bakie Goodman) 30′
DCFC Shawn Lawson (Tyrone Mondi) 78′
DCFC Derrick Otim (Dave Edwardson) 82′

The first match back in the NPSL was against Grand Rapids FC.

The Glentoran FC match lifted our spirits, and for those who still doubted, Sgt. Scary put it into perspective.

Before the march, a Grand Rapids FC jersey had to be sacrificed.

The team program poster honored the three men who started the Northern Guard Supporters.

Gentlemen…this is all your fault!

Anyway…on to the match.

In the third minute, Tyrone Mondi was sent loose down the left side on his own.  Grand Rapids’ keeper Noah Fazekas dashed out of the penalty box, and slid, studs up, into Mondi, taking him down hard.  Fazekas gave the referee no choice but to pull out the red card, putting Grand Rapids down to ten men.

It was set-up for Detroit City FC to shrug off the pre-Glentoran matches and chart a new course to ascend the standings.  But that was almost erased in the 28th minute, when Greg Timmer tapped in a goal, from a ball launched into the box from the head of Cam Cavanagh, for short-handed Grand Rapids FC.  The heart paused, skipping a beat, as a nightmare reappeared.  But then, it pumped again as play resumed.  Thirty seconds after the restart, Bakie Goodman sent a pass to Tyler Moorman, which was cut off by Grand Rapids defender, Trent Vegter’s head, guiding it into the path of Louis Dargent, who fired it past Fazekas’ replacement, Aaron Orban, leveling the score.

The first half ended knotted at one.

At the 78th minute, Tyrone Mondi found Shawn Lawson to provide us with the lead…

Then, four minutes later, Derrick Otim turned a defender inside out, and sent the ball into the far corner of the net to insure victory.

And the Supporters were loving it…

 

With the first win of the season achieved, things were once again right with the world.  The next obstacle would be a trip to Lafayette, Indiana in less than 48 hours.

May 27, 2017: vs Glentoran FC (International Friendly)

dohaeng

4 comments

February 10, 2018

May 26-27, 2017 International Friendly with Glentoran FC.

In 1967, William Clay Ford owned the Detroit Cougars, one of twelve teams in the United Soccer Association.  Each of the franchises imported a team to represent them.  Glentoran FC from Belfast represented the Detroit Cougars.

This summer marked the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Glentoran FC and the City of Detroit.  In the past, no team existed in Detroit for Glentoran FC to connect with.  That has changed.

The Cougars played a twelve-match season in the summer of ’67, finishing fourth in the Eastern Division with three wins, six draws, and three losses.  The boys from Belfast were housed in a Howard Johnson’s on Grand Boulevard, across the street from the Motown Museum.

On June 14, 1967, in a match against against the Houston Stars (who imported Bangu Atletico Clube from Brazil) a riot ensued.  With seventeen minutes remaining in the match, Cougars/Glens Tommy Jackson was laid out by a kick to the kidney by Stars/Bangu’s Luiz Alberto.  Glens’ players took exception to the attack, a melee ensued, which escalated into a riot as both teams’ benches cleared and engaged in the brawl.  It forced the game to end at that point, with Detroit down, 2-0.   Jackson and Billy Sinclair, were the two players who made this fiftieth anniversary trip back to Detroit.

On Friday, May 26th, two events took place with the Glens.  At 1:00 in the afternoon, the team held an open practice at Keyworth Stadium.

The atmosphere was friendly.  A few of our supporters joined a few of their supporters on the pitch to kick a ball around.  A few of us gathered around Billy Sinclair and chatted with him about his brief two-month stay in Detroit.

While shooting the video in the southwest corner of the stadium, I had the section pretty much to myself, until I noticed that I had disturbed a squirrel who was foraging through the benches.  Noticing me, it darted up the stairs and scaled the wall, then leapt into a tree on the other side.  I say this not due to my other amusement – the Peanut Ledge Cafe – but to foreshadow his return.

At 7:00 PM, a reception for supporters and both teams was held at Amnesia in the Motor City Casino.  This was another great time spent building the ‘friendly’ atmosphere.  A table of paraphernalia from the 1967 Detroit Cougars/Glentoran FC season, and a black-and-white video played on a large screen showing film from 1967 of the team.

May 27, 2017
MATCH DAY!

May 27, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
International Friendly
Detroit City FC 1, Glentoran FC 0
Attendance: 5,067

DCFC Tyler Moorman 86′

There was a breakfast at 10AM at 3rd Man Records, which I didn’t attend.  I arrived at Fowling Warehouse earlier than usual, and mingled.

The match featured the defense, with few chances for both teams.

At one point during the first half, a resident took to the field, wondering what all the commotion was about.  Apparently, my little friend from yesterday enjoyed what he saw, and found a nice seat outside the penalty area.  But like yesterday, as the play came down field, and humans drew closer, he vacated the stadium, through a fence in the southwest corner.

With the next match, I began keeping a couple peanuts in my pocket…just in case.  Never saw him again, though.

It was nil-nil at the half.

The paced picked up in the second half.  In the 80th minute, Tyler Moorman was brought down in the box.  Jeff Adkins lined up the penalty, but the Glens keeper, Dwayne Nelson, made a brilliant save to keep things knotted.

Finally, in the 86th minute, Tyler Moorman found the back of the net.

Memorable games tend to be those where the victory is meaningful – like a championship final or victory against a powerful rival (or an amazing comeback from a goal down and a man down, on the road).  But this is our second international friendly.  Both of them provided us the opportunity to meet supporters and players from the team who traveled across the pond to play us.  Both of them ended memorable not for the result on the pitch, but for the goodwill between the teams and supporters, which carried over onto the field when the final whistle blew.  An experience no MLS match could replicate.  I say that from experience.  The Arsensal – New York Red Bulls friendly I attended in 2014 at Red Bull Arena doesn’t compare to the experience this evening and last year.

This weekend, we embraced Detroit soccer history, its roots from Belfast.  Perhaps some of the Irish luck would rub off and change our fortunes in the eleven remaining matches of the season.

May 21, 2017: at AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL Regular Season)

dohaeng

3 comments

February 9, 2018

May 21, 2017
Hollway Field, Ann Arbor, MI
NPSL Regular Season match.
AFC Ann Arbor 2, Detroit City FC 0

AFCAA Dario Suarez (Jack Hallahan) 40′
AFCAA Dario Suarez (Jesse Muskwe) 60′

Dark clouds with glimpses of sunlight bathed the pitch during the match and a rain prior to and a downpour during halftime, created the environment in Ann Arbor this afternoon.

Our previous visit to Ann Arbor, our section was in the visitor’s bleachers of this high school football stadium.  However, this afternoon, they guided us to the south end of the home side bleachers, reserving the visitor’s bleachers for the handful of Main Street Hooligans – the team’s supporters group.  With that move came interesting results.  Two security guards were stationed in front of the Northern Guard Supporters.  Supporters were told to remove their face scarves – claiming them to be a terrorist threat.  In exiting and passing by the Ann Arbor ‘Family Friendly’ fans, a conversation took place between a fan and a few NGS’ers about how he wanted his kid’s soccer experience to be (G-rated versus NGS-rated).

Added to the frustration was the team’s performance.  City looked good early.  But like last year’s match here, we fell behind, this time before the end of the first half.  Instead of a three-goals-in-nine-minutes outburst to claim victory, City conceded another in the 60th minute, and there was no miraculous comeback.

A loss and two draws.  By May 22nd of last season, we had 4 NPSL matches in the books – a win, a loss, and two draws, including our Keyworth Stadium opener with 7,000+ of our friends – and two US Open Cup matches – a win against the Michigan Bucks and a hard-fought loss in Louisville.  Going into our international friendly against Glentoran FC would have a different feel than going into last year’s FC United of Manchester friendly.

May 14, 2017: at Michigan Stars FC (NPSL Regular Season)

dohaeng

3 comments

February 2, 2018

May 14, 2017
Hurley Field, Berkley, MI
NPSL Regular Season Match
Michigan Stars FC 2, DCFC 2

DCFC David Edwardson (Derrick Otim) 5′
DCFC Adam Spinks (Cyrus Saydee) 30′
Stars Austin Ricci 60′
Stars Kyle Thompson (Nash Popovic) 90+’

Hurley Field in Berkley has been home to four pre-season friendlies for Detroit City FC the previous three seasons [wins over Saginaw Valley State University (2014) and Muskegon Risers (2016), a draw vs Saginaw Valley State University (2015), and a loss to the Michigan State Spartans (2015)].

We’ve also entered this stadium as visitors in the inaugural NPSL match of FC Sparta Michigan/Michigan Stars/Michigan Stars FC (a 5-1 thumping).  After a season here, then a season in Dearborn, and two seasons in Pontiac, the Stars returned to Hurley, and we were planning on making ourselves at home in their house once more.

Five minutes in, the potential for another thrashing of the Stars arrived when David Edwardson beat the Stars’ keeper, Antyhony Mwembia.

At the 30th minute, Adam Spinks doubled City’s lead.  When the half-time whistle blew, Le Rouge led 2-0.

In the second half, the Stars’ Austin Ricci scored in the 60th minute, giving the Detroit City faithful pause, hoping that it wasn’t deja vu all over again.  A sigh of relief came when City was awarded a penalty kick in the 85th minute.  It was short-lived as Mwembia made the save, keeping the Stars in the match.  Last minute heroics by Kyle Thompson leveled the score.

Two matches.  Two draws.  Three leads conceded.  An ominous opening weekend.

May 12, 2017: vs Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL Regular Season).

dohaeng

3 comments

January 27, 2018

May 12, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
NPSL Regular Season match.
Detroit City FC 3, Milwaukee Torrent 3
Attendance: 5,041

DCFC Cyrus Saydee (Roddy Green) 40′
Milwaukee Declan Rodriguez (Stuart Grable) 49′
DCFC Jeff Adkins 58′
Milwaukee Mark Hutchison 60′
Milwaukee Nemanja Medic 68′
DCFC Max Todd 90+6′

Five years ago, Detroit City FC played its first NPSL regular season match before 1,072 fans at Cass Tech High School Stadium.   The unexpected growth since that one-one draw comes with higher expectations.  Last season’s drop in the standings, and the rumblings of billionaires seeking a Major League Soccer franchise, this was the opening match of an important season.  It produced excitement and concern.

At the 40th minute, Cyrus Saydee scored, taking us into half time with a 1-0 lead.

 

Milwaukee’s Declan Rodriguez scored in the 49th minute to even the match.  Nine minutes later, Jeff Adkins curled the ball into the net with this beautiful corner kick, to retake the lead.

It took only ten minutes to not only erase the lead, but put DCFC behind.  Mark Hutchison scored two minutes after the Adkins goal on a defensive lapse after the goal, then Nemanja Medic sailed a shot from outside the box that dropped in the far corner at the 68th minute.

As the half continued, there was a buzz in the air.  Could City come back?  Behind me I heard the conversation of two guys – one of them attending their first match.  As City struggled, I heard the new guy ask, “Do these guys always lose?”  Prior to tonight, we’d only lost one match at Keyworth.  But we’d only recorded two wins and three draws.  It took final second heroics by Max Todd to recover a point out of this match.

With a full moon beginning to wane, there was immediate jubilation, and a hope that last season’s funk would wane with it.

 

May 6, 2017: vs Dayton Dynamo (Friendly)

dohaeng

4 comments

January 23, 2018

May 6, 2017
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
Pre-Season Friendly
Detroit City FC 2, Dayton Dynamo 2
Attendance: 4,168

DCFC  Peyton Mowery Own Goal 18′
DCFC  Cyrus Saydee (David Edwardson) 56′
Dayton  Tristan Lyle (Tate Robertson) 57′
Dayton  Tristan Lyle (Tate Robertson) 65′

An overcast and chilly evening to open Keyworth Stadium in 2017.  Dayton, no longer in our division, provided a good challenge leading into the season.  They exposed our fear that last year’s weakness still existed – leaking goals after achieving a lead.  Dayton’s keeper, Ryan Holding, made a few key saves after they tied it, keeping the score level for the final twenty-five minutes of the match.

Personally, I felt off, too.  First time I asked for a media pass was last year at the season-ending friendly against Windsor.  And before this season, I inquired about one for the full season, and the honor was bestowed.  Standing there with the other photographers and their massive equipment, I felt like my little Sony Cyber-Shot was an inadequate toy.  Coupled with the overcast weather, it certainly wasn’t my best performance in shooting, either.  After this match, I had to shrug it off and remember my approach: don’t worry about not having the camera to capture the shots I fantasize about, rather know which kinds of shots my camera can capture, and get them.  Fortunately for me, video compliments when photographing fail.

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April 30, 2017 at Lawrence Tech (friendly)

dohaeng

3 comments

January 21, 2018

April 30, 2017
LTU Athletic Field, Southfield, MI
Pre-Season Friendly.
Lawrence Tech 0, Detroit City FC 2

DCFC  Cyrus Saydee 22′
DCFC  Roddy Green 65′

A radical change in temperature from our match two weeks ago in Saginaw.  Cold, with a chilly rain. It didn’t dampen the spirits of those who turned out for another fun afternoon supporting the team.  The Lawrence Tech Athletic Field held bleacher seating for about five-hundred, and we made ourselves at home.

City won the match on goals by Cyrus Saydee and Roddy Green.

A portion of the proceeds from the match were donated to a member of the Lawrence Tech family – Sean English.  English, a seventeen-year-old student at University of Detroit Jesuit, and Dr. Cynthia Ray of Henry Ford Hospital, had stopped on I-96 to assist motorists in a car crash.  A car struck them both, resulting in the death of Dr. Ray and serious injuries to English.

 

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April 15, 2017: at Saginaw Valley State University (Friendly)

dohaeng

3 comments

January 15, 2018

April 15, 2017
Pre-Season Friendly
Saginaw Valley State University 1, Detroit City FC 3
Braddock Field, University City, Michigan
Attendance: ?
8′  Detroit City FC Cyrus Saydee (Jeff Adkins)

56′  Detroit City FC Jeff Adkins (PK)

82′  Saginaw Valley State University Alberto Gangutia (PK)
85′  Detroit City FC Tommy Catalano (Jeff Adkins)

Finally.  The passing of autumn and winter leads to spring, and the first sighting of our team.

Many of us traveled, gathering at Stardust Lanes in Saginaw before the contest.  The weather cooperated, as it appeared spring was going to be skipped.  The sun blazed, and the temperature hit 82 degrees.  And windy.  I was glad I had last year’s sunscreen lotion still in the car.

It was a good tune-up for both the team and supporters.  A promising result.

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October 21, 2017: Typing Assignment #11

dohaeng

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October 21, 2017

Joe Van Cleave’s eleventh typing assignment is a one-page Halloween story. “(W)e’ll be writing on the subject of Halloween. It could be from any angle: history, personal accounts, fiction, even anti-Halloween. Whatever.”

Anti-Halloween sounded interesting, but I thought it best not to put a downer on those who enjoy this holiday.  Instead, I looked to last year. A writer’s group I’m in is about to hold its second Halloween party. Each of us are to craft a one-thousand word Halloween short story.  A couple weeks ago, I wrapped up my rough draft for the party, but it is too long to fit on a one-pager.  However, the story I wrote last year would work.

The protagonist of this story – Trevor Aldabra – is a character I have been working and developing for a few years now.  He’s a lawyer who represents those on the other side of life.  He came to me in a short story I submitted to the Michigan Bar Journal Short Story Contest (which earned the position of a finalist). Some day, I’ll have everything in place to develop a novel featuring him.  In the meantime, I’ve been crafting stories, playing with this character. And this is one of them.

This story was typed on my 1951 Royal Quiet De Luxe.  The pumpkin in the photo was painted by an inmate at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, MI. I was there to visit a client, and in the prison’s lobby a number of prisoner-painted pumpkins were being sold to raise money for local food bank.

For previous Typing Assignments, click the pumpkin below.

 

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