There have been some remarkable regular season comebacks in the USL Championship over the years.

You can certainly now add Detroit City’s three goals in four minutes epic against Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday night to the list.

• HOSTS ON TOP: Rising looked on course for its second consecutive victory. A beautiful turn and cross by Jearl Margaritha set up Collin Smith for their opening goal late in the first half before Hope Avayevu cleaned up after Darius Johnson recycled possession having previously hit the post himself, staking the side to a two-goal lead with 19 minutes to go.

• ROUGE RALLY: Having recorded only two shots on target to that point, Detroit sparked to life with four minutes to go. An excellent volleyed finish by Darren Smith off a sweeping cross from the left by Rhys Williams halved the deficit in the 86th minute before the South African bagged his fourth goal of the season just over two minutes later, squeezing home a close-range finish at the second opportunity off another cross by Williams.

• CEDEÑO’S CAPPER: Just 80 seconds later, Jeciel Cedeño brought the house down with what proved to be the winner. Cutting in from the right side, the Ecuadorian’s left-footed shot to the far corner just escaped the reach of Rising goalkeeper Triston Henry, giving Le Rouge a remarkable victory.

“I've been working on my shot lately,” said Cedeño. “[Detroit Head Coach] Danny [Dichio] told me that I have to take risks more outside the box. So, once I cut in, I was like, let me just take it in. And thank God it went in.”

Detroit City has delivered some statement results in the USL Championship since joining prior to the 2022 season. This, however, was a first for the club over the three-plus seasons it has been part of the league.

Le Rouge had never previously come back to win after trailing by two goals in the Championship. It also marked only the second time the side had scored three times in a comeback victory, matching the 3-2 result it earned away against Birmingham Legion FC on August 27, 2023 when it twice rallied from a goal down before taking victory at Protective Stadium.

What’s more, it handed Rising their first defeat after leading by a pair of goals since a 3-2 loss to Orange County SC on June 28, 2014.

“The players showed incredible belief and resilience to come back into a game where I thought we played pretty well,” said Dichio. “We had some good opportunities to score, but to be two-nil down in the 86th minute and to continue to push and believe that they could get that first goal, and I really believe once we got that first goal, we had a chance of getting something out of the game.”

For a club that once again expects to contend in the Eastern Conference this season, DCFC’s win in Phoenix is one that resonated strongly now, but will also have a major impact further down the line.