The Charleston Battery lost, 2-0, to the Tampa Bay Rowdies Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida. After scoring at least one goal in their first 17 matches, Charleston were shutout for the second straight game on Saturday.
Former Chelsea FC midfielder Joe Cole opened the scoring in the 40th minute after Alex Morrell wound his way through the Battery back four. Cole received the ball from Morell and toe-poked it past Alex Tambakis to put the hosts ahead in the dying minutes of the first half.
Tampa used the momentum from Cole’s opening goal to keep the pressure on the Battery following the halftime break. Martin Paterson doubled the Rowdies’ lead in the 70th minute with a stunning goal. Paterson received the ball from Marcel Schafer and did well to hold off his defender and turn before firing a shot into the upper left-hand corner of Tambakis’ goal.
The win improves Tampa’s record at Al Lang Stadium to 7-1-2, with their only loss coming to the Battery back in April. Charleston finished the three-game series with the Rowdies with a 2-1-0 record. The Battery remain in first place in the USL Eastern Conference despite suffering two straight losses for the first time this season.
Charleston will have the opportunity to rebound quickly from Saturday’s loss, with their next match coming Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The match against the Hounds will be Charleston’s last of three straight on the road, before returning home to take on Orlando City B on July 29th at MUSC Health Stadium.
CHARLESTON: Alex Tambakis, Quinton Griffith, Taylor Mueller, Forrest Lasso (Miles Robinson, 67), O’Brian Woodbine, Kotaro Higashi, Justin Portillo, Tah Brian Anunga (Nico Rittmeyer, 84), Lagos Kunga (Ricky Garbanzo, 64), Maikel Chang, Heviel Cordoves
Unused substitutes: Odisnel Cooper, Skylar Thomas, Jeffery Otoo, Neveal Hackshaw
TAMPA BAY: Matt Pickens, Kyle Porter, Tamika Mkandawire (yellow card, 25), Neill Collins, Zac Portillos, Joe Cole (goal, 40; Martin Vingaard) Justin Chavez, Marcel Schafer, Alex Morrell, Martin Paterson (goal; 70) Walter Restrepo, 77), Georgi Hristov
Unused substitutes: Akira Fitzgerald, Darnell King, Luke Boden Darwin Jones
