On the heels of Detroit City FC’s massive 2-1 win over The Miami FC Saturday night, both Brett Levis and Devon Amoo-Mensah made their way into the USL Championship’s team of the week.
In what was essentially a must-win for City, Levis had assists on both DCFC tallies, which propelled the Club back into the eighth and final playoff spot out of the East.
Levis’ effectiveness Saturday also wasn’t an anomaly.
The Saskatoon native has played a vital role with Detroit since coming over from FC Tulsa in a swap earlier in the season filling a massive hole in the lineup that was left when Deklan “Grass Boy” Wynne jettisoned the Motor City for Charleston.
Meanwhile, Amoo-Mensah scored his second goal of the season (in as many games) off of a smooth as fuck designed set piece that also marked the game-winner after Miami capitalized off a penalty late in the second half. For Amoo-Mensah too, it was nice to see him finally finding the back of the net after the NISA All-Star has firmly established himself as one of the better defenders in the USL Championship.
Ryan Shellow once again rose to the occassion
If there was any other player in Detroit that deserved a look at Team of the Week honors it was Detroit City FC backup keeper Ryan Shellow. Almost a year to the date when he stepped in for starter Nate Steinwascher in Colorado Springs shutting the door on the Switchbacks, Shellow did it again against a Miami club that absolutely needed to come away with three points.
You can only imagine how difficult of a spot Saturday may have been for Shellow, who hasn’t seen much playing time this season, coming in for Steinwascher who didn’t practice pretty much all week due to a stomach bug. You also really couldn’t ask for anything more in a backup and can’t help but think if Shellow is going to be getting more looks next season as a starter with another club.
The four-man backline continues to anchor Detroit City FC’s late-season success
It’s no secret that DCFC’s defense has put the team in the spot right now where they have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, especially after such a horrid start to the season. What’s standing out even more now though is the switch from a three to a four-man backline opening up much-needed offensive possibilities. Aside from the huge spark that Dario Suarez has provided DCFC upfront and Ben Morris looking much more comfortable and effective the Detroit City FC back four of Michael Bryant, Stephen Carroll, Matt Lewis, and Devon Amoo-Mensah has combined for six total goals this season.
What also seems to be paying off as we’ve seen firsthand these past two weeks is the extra support on the backline enabling Amoo-Mensah to sneak up into the attack. This has in turn provided some extra support for a City offense that again has struggled for the majority of the year.
