A Sweltering Shutout: ACFC defeats Cleveland Force 2-0
Written by: Sideline and Beat Reporter, Liv Sharp
The heat wave across Ohio might be over, but the boys from Akron City are heating up, and at the right time.
For the final derby match of the season, ACFC headed up to Cleveland to face the Force on their home turf. Akron City walked away with a 2-0 win and three much-needed points.
Coach Andy Hoggarth and staff made some adjustments to the starting eleven, with the return of one of ACFC’s leading goal scorers, Stefan Dobrijevic, who had been out since the friendly with Ambassadors Football Club in early June. James Buebendorf made his first USL2 start on defense, and was joined by Jamai Royer, who hadn’t started since the last time ACFC played the Force two weeks prior.
ACFC had seen some combination of the Cleveland Force starting eleven in their previous two matches, but would have a tall order facing goalie Ethan Smith for the third time. Smith leads the Great Forest division in saves with 25 entering the game.
Akron City’s first chance came in the 5th minute with a free kick from Jannis Schmidt. Schmidt played it short, and there was a chance inside the box, but a foul call stopped the possession in its tracks.
While the backline continued to find its rhythm, ACFC continued to have good opportunities, with their second set-piece opportunity coming in the 8th minute.\
Groves took the corner for ACFC, opting to play it short as well. Colin Biros attempted to deliver it into the box, but midfielder Colin Link was there to deflect it.
The following fifteen minutes saw several goal kicks from Bubendorf, Biros, Dobrijevic, and Royer, but none found the back of the net.
On the other side of the field, the ACFC defense became stifling, forcing errant passes and turnovers.
The Force got their first set piece at the 16th minute, but a leaping Buebendorf blocked the shot. Cleveland attempted to pick up the pace and catch ACFC off guard, but Uros Jevtic and the rest of the defense were quick to stifle another shot and draw a foul to end the possession.
A long possession for the boys in red ended in a corner kick, after a block by Aiden Ptacek sent the ball over the goal line.
Colin Biros, who had a set-piece goal in the win against Buffalo, took the corner, but it was a header from Matt Roberts that sent the ball into the front right corner of the net.
“I’ve seen they were doing zonal, just got lucky, got my head on it, flicked it on, and it got in,” said Roberts.
Roberts is in his second year with the club, and that marked his first goal of the season.
“As a six, he’s worked hard, he’s worked hard up and down, he’s won tackles. He gets a little bit of a reward getting in on the corner, so great for him,” said Hoggarth
Early in the second third, Akron City forward Marko Rimac faced off against his brother Josef, who was subbed in for the Force. There wasn’t much of the Rimacs’ playing 1-on-1, but Josef got a kind welcome to the game from Royer, who put him in the spin cycle, effectively shaking him off the ball.
Cleveland’s best opportunity of the first half came off a free kick in the 38th minute, but the shot was no match for the Great Wall of Akron City.
ACFC would score again on the following possession, with Royer streaking up the right side past two defenders. Royer served it into the box, and Anthony Calleri extended to try and block the shot, but to no avail. Buebendorf finished it off with a soft tap to the back of the net, also marking his first goal of the season.
“We know James can do that, so it was great to see him get forward and finish that,” said Hoggarth.
The score would remain two-nil entering the break at Krenzler Field.
At halftime, Hoggarth turned to the bench bringing in Milos Stajkovic, Carter Hancock, Remi Agunbiade, and Stan Klaver for Buebendorf, Rimac, Dobrijevic and Royer.
“We’re gonna make some changes, freshen it up, give some people the opportunity. We can hopefully keep the level the same and keep this going.”
The Force came out firing on all cylinders, eager to net a goal and cut into the deficit. But a shocking near miss from Ptacek, off the front post, took the wind out of their sails in the 52nd minute.
Roberts got some well-deserved rest as he was subbed out in the 60th minute for Mikey Lennon
The rest of the second half saw many chances for Akron City FC to tack on an extra goal, but they were unable to finish on any possessions.
“I would’ve liked us to take a few more chances in the second half. We definitely had the opportunities,” said Hoggarth.
There were also several opportunities for Cleveland, as the heat started to slow down the ACFC defense. A shot from Zsombor Onodi made it into the goal before he was called offside in the 79th minute.
“One thing I didn’t like is we let them stay in the game, hit the post, hit the cross bar, could’ve been a bit of a different finish for us,” said Hoggarth.
But Akron City doubled down on defense and closed the game out to pick up three crucial points.
Next for ACFC, a trip to Pittsburgh to visit old NPSL foe: Steel City FC. Akron City drew with SCFC to kick off the season back in May.
“I think we’ve come together as a team, we’ve gelled together,” said Hoggarth. “I like playing against them because they’re physical and aggressive, and it suits the way we want to play.”
Steel City currently sits atop the Great Forest region with only one loss and one draw. ACFC will look to play spoiler to their stellar season on Sunday. Kickoff from Founder’s Field is set for 3 pm.