Detroit City FC smokes Milwaukee with equalizer

Hamtramck — There was a little controversy at the end of Friday night’s 3-3 draw between Detroit City FC and the Milwaukee Torrent.

In the 88th minute, a number of DCFC supporters set off smoke grenades, which hampered visibility.

Five minutes later, in stoppage time, Max Todd scored the game-tying goal in his first game with Le Rouge (0-0-1).

“You couldn’t see much, I’m not going to lie to you,” Todd said. “I just thought (I’d) get in the middle of it and hope something comes.

“Luckily, I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Torrent coach Andreas Davi was less than pleased.

“I do not understand at the end, that you cannot see over the whole field,” he said. “You need to stop that game until the smoke is gone. Seriously. I like this (atmosphere), this is OK, but (when) the right back cannot see what the left back is doing, that’s bad. That’s ridiculous.

“It had no impact on the game, but this is just stuff you cannot do. You shouldn’t have to deal with that at the end of the game, that you cannot see the full field.”

DCFC coach Ben Pirmann said that experience is what anyone coming to Keyworth Stadium should expect.

“I don’t think the smoke had an effect on the result,” he said. “We played a good game, they played a good game (and) the officials had a good game.

“It was a fair game.”

Todd made his feelings clear on the smoke.

“That’s what you get when you come to Detroit,” said Todd, who grew up in Ireland and plays at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “If you can’t handle that, well, tough luck.”

Nemanja Medic gave the Torrent (0-1-1) their first lead with his go-ahead goal in the 67th minute.

The match was scoreless until the 39th minute, when Cyrus Saydee’s shot went past Josh Rohde to put Le Rouge on the board.

Milwaukee had three shots on goal in the first half, while Detroit City connected on its fifth shot.

Declan Rodriguez tied it in the 52nd on a goal that DCFC goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher got his hands on but was unable to stop from going in.

“We were actually doing really well in the first half,” Todd said. “Ben (Pirmann) said, ‘Keep going on them. Press high.’ I think it was just unfortunate that they got an early goal (in the second half) and it gave them a bit of spirit.”

Jeff Adkins scored in the 58th off a corner kick, giving DCFC a 2-1 lead, before Torrent substitute forward Mark Hutchinson tied it back up two minutes later.

“We came from behind twice,” Davi said. “That shows the character of our team.”

Pirmann, however, felt differently.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “That’s two points lost. It’s a disaster to give up three goals at home. To be winning twice is even worse. I just told the guys in the locker room, ‘This feels like a loss.’

“The team spirit, the fight, the energy is tremendous. That’s what this club is about. That’s what this city’s about. But, we need quality.”

Torrent defender Daniel Cisneros was issued a yellow card for shoving Le Rouge forward Roddy Green to the ground in the 22nd minute after both players collided near the Milwaukee goal.

Green was given a yellow card in the 55th.

DCFC assistant coach Bret Mollon was ejected in the 82nd for arguing with officials.

Le Rouge will make the short trip to Berkley on Sunday for a match against the Michigan Stars FC. Kickoff from Hurley Field is set for 4 p.m.

DCFC midfielder Louis Dargent and forward Shawn Lawson missed the match while their international transfer agreements were still incomplete.

Both will be out Sunday.

“I think not having Louis Dargent really hurt us,” Pirmann said. “Louis is probably our best player. He’s one of the best center midfielders in college soccer (at Coastal Carolina).”

Al Willman is a freelance writer

Twitter.com: @AlWillmanSports