The Charleston Battery played Birmingham Legion FC to a scoreless draw in the USL Championship on Wednesday at Protective Stadium. Charleston’s attack threatened throughout the night, outshooting the hosts 15 to seven, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Battery’s defense held firm during the whole match and recorded their third shutout of the regular season.
The midweek match started with the Battery on the front foot and recording four shots in the opening 10 minutes, but only one on target, by Juan David Torres in the 9th minute.
As the half neared the 30-minute mark, the game began to have a more cagey complexion. Neither team took a shot for a span of roughly 15 minutes until Cal Jennings’ attempt from the edge of the box went narrowly wide of the target.
MD Myers almost opened the scoring in the 34th minute after being played forward by Torres’ sublime one-touch pass. Myers’ shot from inside the box was saved by goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel’s outstretched arm.
Charleston’s pressure began to mount more in the later stages of the half, with on-target attempts by Myers and Arturo Rodriguez, but the game went into the break tied at 0-0. Birmingham did not record a shot on target in the first half.
Play resumed for the second half with the hosts looking to jump out of the gate. Birmingham made a dangerous advance into the box in the 48th minute but the threat was neutralized by Houssou Landry and cleared away.
Jennings broke free in the 53rd minute to test Van Oekel, but his shot was saved. Neither side would record an attempt on target afterward through the 87th minute.
Aaron Molloy was close to breaking the deadlock in the 88th minute with a shot off the half-volley, but it was saved by Van Oekel.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, who had a relatively tame evening at the office, was called to make his only save of the night with a stop against Tabort Etaka Preston in the 92nd minute.
The night ended how it began at 0-0, and the points were shared at Protective Stadium. Charleston outshot Birmingham 15 to seven.
The result moves the Battery’s record to 10W-3L-2D (32pts), good for second in the Eastern Conference.
Zamudio’s clean sheet is his third of the year.
Joey Akpunonu had another productive evening en route to the shutout with a match-high nine clearances, in addition to two duels won, two blocks and three recoveries.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and defender Graham Smith addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on the team’s performance this evening…
Start to finish, we were on top of them and we moved the ball well. We created plenty of chances. I’m not sure on the data and the expected goals and the big chances, but when you outshoot a team 15 to seven, and six to one on goal, and you have eight or nine shots inside the area, you need to convert one.
But, I don’t think it was for lack of effort. I thought the attitude was good. Going on the road in a tough environment against a very talented and organized team was good. We just didn’t quite do enough to get all three points, and it’s disappointing. I don’t think it was necessarily fully deserved to get all three points, but our performance was still very good.
The effort was good, like I said, against a top, talented, and well-coached team that’s going to just keep trending upward. That’s what it is. If we want to put ourselves in the spots to be a top team, those are games we just have to figure out how to win. But at the end of the day, there are massive positives with that performance.
Coach Pirmann on the third shutout of the league campaign…
We haven’t had a ton of shutouts this year, and I mentioned that to the team after the game that I was satisfied with the defensive integrity. I think Birmingham only really had two half-chances. So, we limited them, and we kept the ball well, and we created our own chances going forward. I just thought we needed to do a little more, whether it was the final play, finishing the attack, the final pass, holding it up a bit better, or even just sucking the life out of them. These games are tough and these teams are talented.
There’s never a situation where, just because we’re high up in the table and another team isn’t close to us, you should show up and expect to win. It’s always very difficult. The onus is on us week in and week out. But, I thought our team did more than enough to put ourselves in the position to win. And a product of that was getting the shutout. I think we had one save to make, and he made it. Our backline was strong, and we’re still getting fit and cohesive there. We haven’t had a lot of consistency in the backline this year with the injuries and changes. But, I’m definitely glad for the clean sheet, I just wish we could have finished a chance or two to take all three points.
Coach Pirmann on building upon the positives quickly to Sunday…
This is our last midweek-weekend swing of the year. We’ve had a lot of tough travel lately. We’ll need to get home, recover, and get mentally and physically refreshed. It’s going to be hot on Sunday afternoon during the holiday weekend. We’re playing a top team who, for my money, has probably been the best team in the USL over the last six weeks.
We’ll continue to build on this. We’re halfway through the regular season, and I told the team I don’t want learning lessons. I don’t want to hear, ‘Well, we’ve got to do this next time.’ I want us to implement things now. I want us to be hard every single game. And if you don’t win, you don’t win.
Tonight was a case where we were pretty good, just not quite good enough. But if we can have really strong, excellent performances, then I don’t care if we win, lose or draw, because I believe that stuff takes care of itself. So, with a couple of days to turn around, we’ve got to use the positives to improve the performances. We’ve got to have energy, whether that’s from the start or coming off the bench, and we’ve got to put our best foot forward and go for it.
Smith on his overall assessment of the night…
I think anytime you can come out against a very talented attacking side like Birmingham, with the shutout, you’re happy. Not just as a defensive unit, but as a whole team, because everybody puts in the work for that, starting from Cal Jennings and MD Myers, back to the back line and Luis [Zamudio], although, I think Coach summed it up well after the game, where he said to us it was not a great performance.
We’re working for three points every time we put on the jersey, and to not come out with three points is a little bit disappointing, but it just gives us more motivation and things to work on heading into a big game Sunday.
Smith on the difficulties of finding a goal against Birmingham…
I think Birmingham are very solid in their structure, and they shift lines very well. They’re very solid in their back five and they’re very smart, and you can tell that they have a defensive plan they want to stick to. Sometimes it’s just not your night.
We still have good chances, we have great attacking players who we rely on to get in those good spots, but just for whatever reason, it really didn’t fall tonight.
Smith on the strong defensive performance for the clean sheet…
A big point of emphasis coming off Tormenta was to keep our line high, shift our lines, and talk, and end counterattacks before they start. I thought we did a better job of that tonight. There were big plays in big moments throughout the game, whether it was Nate and Langston on the wing or Joey with big clearances, and Luis as well. I think it was just a full team effort tonight.
Smith on his return to match fitness after playing a near complete game again…
It’s great. Being out, watching from the sidelines, honestly sucks. When you’re going through your rehab and working really hard to get back with the team, it’s for moments like tonight and for chances like tonight.
It was basically just a culmination of a lot of hard work. I’ve got to thank guys like Mike Barr, Eric Sally, and Bobby Weisenberger for all the work they put in to help me get back. It’s a testament to them. It felt good to be out there tonight, and I’m feeling good. Now I’m looking forward to Sunday.
Charleston’s next match will be home vs. North Carolina FC on Sun., July 6. Tickets for the nationally televised Southern Derby are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups Summary
BHM: Van Oekel, Suarez, Menseh (Etaka, 79’), Kavita, Paterson (Rufe, 65’), Tregarthen (Centeno, 90’), Trejo, Laszo, Martinez, Pasher, Damus
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos, Akpunonu, Smith (Segbers, 86’), Blackstock, Rodriguez (Kelly, 61’), Ycaza (Molloy, 61’), Houssou, Torres, Jennings, Myers
