Dayton, May 23, 2018 - Dayton Dutch Lions FC (1-0-1) took three important points on the road with a 2-1 win over the Michigan Bucks (1-1-1). The Lions came from behind with Tate Robertson (Springfield, OH/Bowling Green) and Jackson Dietrich (Las Vegas, NV/Wright State) scoring both sides of halftime and the whole team giving a strong, organized defensive effort to preserve the win.
"What a nice win for this team so early in the season," said Head Coach Dan Griest. "We have had a good couple days of practice with all the boys working very hard and it paid off tonight. This was a win for the entire squad as they fought for 90+ minutes. Our goals came off of hard work and both finishes were clinical. Tate did what Tate does...outhustles people and Jackson's finish was picture perfect....definite Goal of the Week candidate. This is a great game to build our confidence."
It was a humid evening in the mid 80's at kickoff at Royal Oaks High School. The field was very similar to DOC Stadium and the Lions looked ready to play. Coach Griest had made a couple changes to the lineup moving Robertson up top, pushing JJ Williams (Montgomery, AL/Kentucky) to the left wing and bringing Jalim Bayo (Columbus, OH/Wright State) into the number 10 spot. This change created its first chance in the opening minutes. With less than 90 seconds played, Bayo played a quick give-n-go with Robertson and threaded a pass through the Michigan centerbacks. Williams was able to get onto the ball, but his shot hit the post and came out. It was a wake-up call for the Bucks.
The next 25 minutes belonged to the hosts as they maintained about 70% possession and kept the ball in the Lions defensive half of the pitch. They had success attacking with numbers down the left flank where they created several good scoring chances and earned a couple corner kicks. The Lions were in a "bend but don't break" mode trying to slow the Bucks attack. Unfortunately, Michigan got the chance they needed as a nice square pass along the top of the box found an open Bucks forward who bent the ball around a defender and into the lower left corner of the net. Michigan takes a 1-0 lead at 20 minutes. For the next 5 minutes, they continue to control the match with several more good opportunities that were wasted with shots off frame.
The Lions slowly started to play themselves back into the match. The midfield of Eric Hutton (Chillicothe, OH/Wright State), Peyton Mowery (Troy, OH/Cincinnati) and Chris Dupont (Canada/Dynamo) started to apply more pressure and were winning the one-on-one battles. This allowed the defense to re-align themselves and find spaces to support the attack. In the 26th minute, Harvey Slade (England/Wright State) played a 40 yard ball down the right flank to an onrushing Robertson. The Michigan outside back headed it towards his goal which turned out to be a mistake as Robertson split the two defenders getting to the bouncing ball first and slotting it far post to tie the match 1-1.
The remaining 20 minutes of the first half were a back and forth affair with neither team able to create anything solid in the final third. The Lions were content to go into halftime 1-1.
Coach Grieist shared, "I was happy with the way we responded to their goal. We picked up our pressure, started connecting more passes and really played for each other. We ended the half with positive momentum. With the heat and humidity, I knew that I would need my substitutes to play a big role in the second half and they did. Dietrich gave us a great 45 minutes and hit the game winner. The other four subs kept the level of play high and pushed us to victory. A total team win."
At halftime, Dietrich came on for Bradley Schluter (Centerville, OH/Dyanamo), but played in the midfield with Mowery moving to the right back spot. Just five minutes later Jacob Moore (Ashland, MO/Oakland) came on for Dupont and Brady Lenius (Sturgeon Bay, WI/UW Green Bay) for Bayo giving the Lions fresh legs in the middle of the pitch. This changed the match as the Lions were winning the 50-50 balls and more importantly were winning the possession game which relieved pressure on the back line. Dayton took control of the match and were threatening with multiple attacks in the final third.
In the 68th minute, Robertson took a pass from Moore and was heading to goal, but was taken down about 25 yards from goal. The ensuing direct kick gave the Lions the lead as Dietrich hit a perfect ball over the wall and into the near post upper corner. The Bucks keeper had no chance and the Lions led with 20+ minutes to play.
jackson.dietrich direct kick game winner
The energy from taking the lead kept the Lions on the attack pressuring all over the pitch. They kept possession, moved the ball around and you could see the frustration starting to build for the home team. As time continued to wind down, Dayton's confidence grew. The Bucks brought on a forward at the right back position to try and overload the attack to get an equalizer. Coach Griest brought on two late subs, Connor Hughes (Wichita Falls, TX/Cedarville) at left back and Justin Barkow (Longmont, CO/South Dakota School) on left wing to counter the Bucks attack down the right side.
Robertson made things interesting with two late chances to put the game away, but the Bucks keeper came up big with saves on both breakaways. The Lions took the ball to the corner to run out the final minutes of stoppage time and the first win of the season was complete.
The Lions will be home on Friday, May 25th at 7:00pm versus the Derby City Rovers. Tickets are $10 adults and $6 youth, military and veterans at the gate (5 and under free). Specially priced discounted tickets are available for groups of 12 or more by calling the ticket office at 937 530 2123.
To keep up with all the latest news on the Lions, follow us on Facebook @DaytonDutchLionsFC and on Twitter @DaytonDutchLion.
MATCH SUMMARY
Venue: Royal Oaks High School - Royal Oaks, MI
Referee: NA
Attendance: NA
LINEUPS:
Dayton Dutch Lions FC: Barrios, Schluter (Dietrich 45'), Stovall, Slade, Lianes (Hughes 80'), Hutton, Mowery, Dupont (Moore 50'), Bayo (Lenius 55'), Williams (Barkow 83'), Robertson. Unused substitutes: Popovich, Wolthuis
Michigan Bucks: Pinheiro (Mayr 45'), Goldsmith, Barone, Taye (Timmer 58'), Dunwell, Guitar, Rufe, Buhovic (Ricci 74'), Nielson, Hart (Cisse 82'), Hague. Unused substitutes: Vaughn, Wilson
SCORING SUMMARY
MICH – Taye, 20′ (Guitar)
DDL - Robertson, 26' (Slade)
DDL - Dietrich, 68'
DISCIPLINE
DDL – Lianes (reckless tackle), 30′
DDL – Dupont (simulation), 49′
DDL - Moore (reckless tackle), 70'
MI - Timmer (reckless tackle), 77'
MI - Ricci (dissent), 88'
DDL - Lenius (reckless tackle), 90'