Michigan Bucks 1:0 Forest City London, 6/15/12

The Bucks are unbeaten at home in PDL play in 2012

It was a tight game Friday night as the Michigan Bucks hosted Canadian side Forest City London. Coming into the match, the Bucks sit in 1st place in the PDL Great Lakes Division, 5 points ahead of 3rd placed London. With a game in hand and 2 points over 2nd placed River City Rovers, the Bucks had, in this match, an opportunity to pull away from the pack.

The match opened with pressure by the Bucks on the counter-attack, which paid dividends when Steven Miller set up Scott Caldwell for a goal in the 10th minute. The Bucks did well to break up attacks in their defensive third and to keep London on their heels with offensive pressure. They began the match in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, but shifted during the second half to a 4-2-3-1.

The best chance London had came in the 62nd minute, only to be denied by Adam Grinwis as he came up with a great diving penalty save. While they did threaten on occasion, London would rue their missed opportunities and inability to overcome the gridlock created by the Bucks in the run of play. This, however was not an easy match for the Bucks, their closest opportunity in the second half coming from a free kick; Bim Ogunyemi curls one over the wall, which hits the far post and falls out the Catalano on a run from the free kick fake - his rebound shot, hard and low, is cleared off the line by a scrum of London defenders.

The night ended 1:0 in favor of the hosts. They now sit in 1st place on 19 points, 5 points clear of 2nd placed River City Rovers. Despite the loss, Forest City London remain in 3rd on 11 points, 1 point above Hamilton FC RAGE. The Bucks will face the Toronto Lynx Tuesday the 19th and the Cincinatti Kings Thursday the 21st, both 7:30 @ Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
Check out the PDL standings here

Michigan Bucks:
Adam Grinwis- Stew Given, Sebastian Harris, Kevin Cope, Nate Robinson - Chad Barson - Tommy Catalano, Nate Boyden - Scott Caldwell - Steve Miller, Stefan St. Louis

FC London:
Reece Richardson - Joshua Hughes, Rene DeZorzi, Chris Dillon, Geraldo Garza - Tyler Hemming, Thomas Owens, Gary Ogilvie - Martin Lange, Bryan Da Cruz, Denver Spearman

Goals: 10' - Scott Caldwell (Steven Miller)

Substitutions: 53' Steven Miller ↔ Bim Ogunyemi; 60' Stefan St. Louis ↔ Anthony Grant; 71' Nate Robinson ↔ Justin Sass, 79' Nate Boyden ↔ Zach Steinberger, 83' Anthony Grant ↔ Simon Omekanda, 87' Tommy Catalano ↔ Kenny Uzoigwe // 53' Geraldo Garza ↔ Lucas Almeida

Yellow Cards: Nate Robinson, 59' // Rene DeZorzi, 69'; Tyler Hemming, 71', Gary Ogilvie, 78'