Match Preview: Charleston Battery v Louisville City FC

The Battery play host to Louisville City FC Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium at 7:30 PM. Charleston are fresh off a midweek road win over Loudoun United while Louisville took care of business against Atlanta United 2 last Sunday. Louisville beat Charleston 4-1 on June 1st at Louisville Slugger Field.

George Davis IV got things started for Louisville in the 3rd minute of play. Lucky Mkosana was on the receiving end of a Niall McCabe cross and, with a brilliant backheel, found Davis in the middle of the box. Joe Kuzminsky was able to get a slight touch on the shot but couldn’t parry away Davis’ attempt.

Kierron Mason picked up a straight red card in the 19th minute, pulling Mkosana down in the penalty area after the Louisville forward forced Mason into a turnover. Magnus Rasmussen converted on the penalty to make it 2-0 in favor of Louisville.

Arthur Bosua got Charleston back in the match five minutes after the start of the second half. Vincenzo Candela provided a quality cross and Bosua rose above the Louisville defense to head home past Benjamin Lundt. Louisville secured the win after a Dante Marini own goal and a well-placed free-kick from McCabe. It was a chippy finish to the match which saw two Louisville red cards given in the final eleven minutes.

For Charleston, Saturday’s outing is all about redemption. The Battery fell 0-5 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their last match at MUSC Health Stadium. Despite the loss to Tampa Bay, the Black and Yellow remain a strong side at home, playing to a season record of 4-1-6 with a +2 goal differential. The Battery finish out the final two weeks of August on the road traveling to Nashville and Charlotte. Charleston picked up wins against both teams at home earlier this season scoring a combined five while only allowing one.

Oscar Jimenez pulls the strings for Louisville leading the team in assists (3) and leading the USL Championship in chances created (77). A combination of Tah Brian Anunga, Vincezo Candela, and Angelo Kelly will look to keep Jimenez in check and could be the key to securing three points for the Battery. Anunga leads the team in tackles and tackles won (49, 34) and Candela sits third (37, 23).

Out of Luck(y) – Louisville are without Lucky Mkosana who was directly involved with City’s first two goals in Charleston’s 2019 trip to Louisville Slugger Field. Mkosana is now with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and torched the Battery scoring two goals at MUSC Health Stadium on August 3rd. A lot has changed for Charleston since their last match against Louisville. Ataulla Guerra is back in the side, Jay Bolt has recovered from his knee injury/surgery, and Taylor Mueller will lead the team after missing the June 1st match.

Captain “200” – Speaking of Mueller, the defender is set to make his 200th career appearance tomorrow night against Louisville. Mueller currently sits 3rd all-time in club appearances only behind John Wilson (269) and Dusty Hudock (281). In his eighth season, Mueller continues to be a rock for the Battery defense, ranking first in clearances (85) and blocked shots (16). Mueller made his first offensive contribution of the season Wednesday night against Loudoun United, heading home a corner in the 21st minute to get things started for the Battery in a 1-2 win.