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Matchweek 17 Review: Detroit Controls Their Destiny
MATCHWEEK 17 REVIEW:
Detroit's Home Win Puts Their Destiny In Their Hands
An unfortunate car accident prevented the Southwest match from being played - luckily, nobody was injured - so that left NFPL fans with just one match on Saturday evening.
DETROIT IMPERIAL FUTSAL 5-3 Grand Rapids OLé
Detroit Imperial Futsal needed a win over Grand Rapids OLé to extend their season and they did just that, taking a commanding early lead and seeing it out to the final whistle to keep a playoff berth in touching distance.
Omar Lahbiki put the the home side on the front foot, scoring the two opening goals. The first was a lovely solo goal, going coast to coast and rounding the keeper to calmly finish and take the lead. His second was only a few minutes later as he latched onto a corner kick and smashed the ball through a crowd of legs into the back of the net.
Detroit didn't let up - pressuring the keeper resulted in a giveaway to Davide Di Poce, and he carried the ball forward before finding Denin Oglecevac who slotted calmly into the goal for a 3-0 lead with less than 10 minutes played in the first half.
After providing two assists for the opening 3 goals, it was Di Poce's mistake at the back that opened the door to let Grand Rapids back into the game. Dispossessed just a few feet from his own net, Pablo Real made no mistake and fired home to narrow the lead to 3-1.
However, the visitor's joy was shortlived. Costa Wells played a neat give-and-go at midcourt before pouncing on a loose ball to restore the 3-goal lead for Detroit.
The two teams went into the half at 4-2, with Grand Rapids finding one more just before halftime. A big save from Frankie Mendoza launched a counter and after a bit of a scrap, Marcos Real and Mose Crawford found themselves with the ball against just the Detroit goalkeeper. An easy pass to the back post gave Crawford a simple tap-in for a big goal.
The second half was an intense affair. Grand Rapids OLé scored early through Jair Real, drilling it into the bottom right corner when Cesar Alayo found him open at the top of the keeper's area.
The score stayed that way for almost the rest of the game until a 10-meter kick for Detroit was expertly dispatched by Costa Wells to secure the win for the home side with under 2 minutes to play.
The win sets up a showdown at the end of the regular season in the Midwest - make sure to catch our Matchweek 18 preview!
A LOOK AT THE TABLE AFTER MATCHWEEK 17:
Just one week remaining in the regular season before the 2023/24 NFPL Playoffs! Every team will be in action in Matchweek 18 and we'll see who makes the cut.
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