The Charleston Battery host St. Louis FC Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium at 7:30 PM.
Last Time Out
The Battery split points in a 2-2 draw against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last Saturday. It was a tale of two halves as the Battery faced a 2-0 deficit going into halftime. Pittsburgh midfielder Kevin Kerr opened the scoring five minutes into the match, splitting two Battery defenders and finishing a Kenardo Forbes pass for his third goal of the season. Forbes doubled Pittsburgh’s lead seven minutes later, chipping Joe Kuzminsky from the left side of the box. Forbes 12th minute goal highlighted a frustrating forty-five minutes for the Battery who saw four yellow cards, three coming in the final minutes of the half.
Nicque Daley, who came on for Romario Piggott in the 64th minute, provided the spark that would lead to the Battery’s second-half comeback. Daley drew a penalty in the 75th minute which Zeiko Lewis converted to cut the lead. Daley scored his first goal for the Battery after a wonderful individual effort to beat three defenders rescuing a point for the Battery in the 81st minute.
St. Louis FC’s last match against Ottawa Fury FC, scheduled for May 4th, was postponed due to flooding. St. Louis were 3-1 winners in their most recent match against Swope Park Rangers on April 27th. Russell Cicerone notched his third goal of the season and is tied for the team lead with Sam Fink. Cicerone scored the second goal for St. Louis following a quick build up between Sean Reynolds and Albert Dikwa. Swope Park would pull one back in in the 65th minute through an Alexsander Andrade goal but St. Louis would secure the win in the 84th through a Kyle Greig headed goal.
What to Watch For…
Eastern Elite; The Battery and St. Louis FC battle to remain amongst the Eastern Conference elite. St. Louis currently occupy the 3rd sport while Charleston sit 5th. Charleston and St. Louis are enjoying a fine run of form with both sides playing to a 3-1-1 record over their last five matches. Only two points separate Charleston and St. Louis in the table and both sides have a game in hand against conference leaders, New York Red Bulls II.
Super Subs; Daley’s equalizer on Saturday night is the third goal scored by a Battery substitute this season. Dante Marini has made five substitute appearances this year netting two game-winning goals against Hartford Athletic and Memphis 901 FC. The Battery have earned seven of their fifteen points this season from Daley’s and Marini’s goals.
Unbeaten Streaks; Charleston remains unbeaten at home following their 2-2 draw against Pittsburgh, good for a 3-0-2 record with a plus-5 goal differential. St. Louis have yet to drop points or concede on the road this season, boasting an impressive 2-0-1 record with a plus-3 goal differential.
Coaches Corner
Mike Anhaeuser on St. Louis “They’re solid defensively and they have good players up front. They can score goals and they can defend so they can hit you in two ways. We got caught last week, Pittsburgh came out and surprised us and caught us and this week we have to be prepared.” We know what we have to do and it’s going to be a great game on Saturday.”
On Recent Injuries “Unfortunately, we have a couple of injuries, they’re not bad injuries but we might have to leave a couple of guys out and make a couple of adjustments on the outside. We have a couple of guys that can play multiple positions, so we’ll get through with our adjustments.
Joe Kuzminsky, on St. Louis “It’s going to be a tough game. They’re above us in the conference. They’ve come out and shown that they’re ready to compete in the Eastern Conference. They are going to be a formidable opponent and we have to come out with intensity, come out strong, no slow starts; just be ready for them. We’re at home. We like to attack, we like to score goals, but we don’t want to give them an opportunity to score either.”
Charleston Battery: USL Championship Record, 4-1-3 (Home: 3-0-2)
Team Leaders
Goals: Lewis, Svantesson (3)
Assists: Lewis, Woodbine (2)
Chances Created: Lewis (16)
Saves: Kuzminsky (15)
Clean Sheets: Kuzminsky (2)
St. Louis FC: USL Championship Record, 5-1-2 (Away: 2-0-1)
Team Leaders
Goals: Cicerone, Fink (3)
Assists: Hilton (2)
Chances Created: Forbes (15)
Saves: Fenlason (17)
Clean Sheets: Fenlason (4)
