GROSSE POINTE WOODS, MI- Liquid Football (7-2-1) beat Cedars FC (2-5-3) 4-2 in a critical game in the title race. This puts Liquid Football in first place ahead of Inter Detroit for now.
Liquid Football came in clutch in another must-win game, extending their five-game win streak and staying unbeaten at home. Liquid Football’s last loss was on May 20th.
It had all the signs of a trap game for Liquid Football. It was coming off a big win against Thundercats, and they had to do a quick turnaround to play Cedars FC a few days later. This wasn’t just about three points. It was about bragging rights for Cedars since many players from both teams knew each other. Despite Cedars’ record, they have an experienced team and weren't going to go down easy.
It was forecast to rain for the whole match, and it did for the most part. The game started, and it was a fast-paced, action-packed game right off the bat. The play was up and down the field, chance after chance. Finally, Waseem Muthana scored in the 12th minute after receiving a through ball from Beni Tanyi. Muthana took the ball toward the goal and shot it right at the goalie. The ball skipped off the turf and went through his legs 1-0 Liquid Football.
Ten minutes later, Cedars equalized. A shot off a Cedars free kick was parried away by Esmail Haidan but was gathered by a Cedars attacker. He found a wide-open teammate in the middle, who tapped it in to make it 1-1.
Just before halftime, Hamzah Saleh played a great ball to Waseem Muthana, who beat two defenders and the goalie to make it 2-1 Liquid Football at the break.
Just like in the game against Thundercats, right at the beginning of the second half Liquid Football conceded an early second-half goal right out of halftime. In the 46th minute, Cedars had a corner kick, which was taken short. The cross came in and fell to Papa Massar Diaw, who put it into the back of the net to tie it up again 2-2.
With only a couple minutes left in the game, everyone thought Liquid Football’s title hopes were over. However, Waseem Muthana struck again. In the 87th minute, Liquid Football drew a free kick outside the Cedars’ box. Multiple Liquid Football players stood over it, but Waseem shot it, and it went in, and Liquid Football took the lead 3-2 with only a few minutes left in the game.
The referee signaled for four minutes of stoppage time. People shouted to take it to the corner to drain the clock, but Muthana didn’t do that. He received a pass from Cyrus Saydee, dribbled around three defenders inside the Cedars' 18-yard box, and finessed it off the far post to make it 4-2 in stoppage time.
Waseem Muthana could not be stopped Wednesday night. He scored all four goals against Cedars. In ten games, Muthana has nine goals and three assists. With Muthana’s dominating performance, Liquid Football leapfrogged Inter Detroit and moved into first place.
Liquid Football plays its final home game against Livonia City FC. LCFC is an MWPL staple. They are tied for third place in the Great Lakes West, another challenging game for Liquid Football.
Liquid Football plays Livonia City FC on Sunday at University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods. Kick-off is at 3:00. Tickets are on sale now.