The Charleston Battery fell 4-1 on the road to Louisville City FC on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium. While the Battery had the majority of shots on target during the game, four goals in the first half for the hosts proved to be the difference on the night. MD Myers’ goal put the Battery on the board in the second half.
The No. 1 vs. 2 duel was off to a quick start after Cal Jennings broke free for the first shot on target just 29 seconds in. Louisville managed to open the scoring in the 3rd minute via Phillip Goodrum, taking a 1-0 lead.
Charleston were quick to fight back despite the early deficit. MD Myers and Jennings nearly leveled the score in the 11th minute but their shots from inside the box were saved.
Louisville doubled their lead in the 16th minute on a goal by Jansen Wilson. To that point, the Battery held over 70% possession and more than twice as many passes in the opposition’s half.
Charleston had five shots, all on target, through the 24th minute but continued to search for a way past goalkeeper Damian Las.
The hosts added a third in the 28th minute by Wilson to take a 3-0 lead just before the half-hour mark.
In the final moments of stoppage time, Louisville were awarded a penalty following a foul in the box credited to Houssou Landry. Taylor Davila converted from the spot to give the hosts a 4-0 lead at halftime.
Play resumed in the second half with Ben Pirmann making a series of substitutions, bringing on Leland Archer, Jeremy Kelly, Emilio Ycaza and Rubio Rubín into the match.
Charleston pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute when Myers found a way past Las with a strike from inside the box. The play was initiated at the back when goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a sliding stop to deny Ray Serrano, which quickly sprang a counterattack. Houssou played Jennings forward and Jennings’ long cross connected with Myers, who lined up his shot before beating Las to the near post.
The goal was Myers’ 13th of the year across all competitions, most on the team. Jennings’ assist was his fifth of the season.
A noteworthy moment occurred in the 63rd minute when Douglas Martinez entered the match off the bench to make his 150th career appearance in the USL Championship regular season.
Charleston dominated possession in the second half, averaging over 70% held, but only recorded one shot on target after Myers’ goal, a close-range hit by Arturo Rodriguez.
Louisville went on to secure the 4-1 victory. The Battery ended the match with just over 70% possession retained, and the majority of shots (17 to 14) and shots on target (six to five).
The result moves the Battery’s record to 13W-4L-2D (41pts), which places them second in the Eastern Conference table with 11 games remaining in the regular season.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann discussed the match after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his immediate takeaways from the match…
We prepared well, we knew exactly how we needed to play and what we needed to do to win, but we didn’t do it. We just didn’t turn up. We were nowhere near where we needed to be, and we just didn’t perform. When you’re playing the best team in the league in the toughest place to play, you have to do it at a high level. So, at the end of the day, it was a fair end result.
If you take the first 20 minutes, we’re down 2-0. But if you look at the run of the play in those first 20 minutes, we implemented what we wanted to do, whether it was in the attack, getting the spots, even after conceding the early goal. We had two or three great chances that we needed to score, but it didn’t happen. And then to go down 2-0, from there, the stadium gets on you with the big crowd they had.
Coach Pirmann on the difficulties faced early on…
I think if you want to look at the first two plays of the game, that summed it up. We did exactly what we needed to do; we played through, we got a half breakaway. Then, their goalkeeper makes a save. But, a few moments later, Louisville played a big ball that went unchallenged, and then scored the opener.
Coach Pirmann on bouncing back from the result…
The last thing we addressed in the locker room after the match is that this is done and dusted, but major reflections are needed here. We have to match Pittsburgh’s intensity, be willing to keep the ball, draw fouls and do the dirty work. That’s on me, we’ll get it fixed. Pittsburgh is just as tough a place to play as this and they’re an aggressive team. We have to turn up and be assertive against them, be high energy and high character.
Charleston’s next match will be away vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sat., Aug. 16. The Battery’s next home game will be on Sat., Aug. 23, against Loudoun United FC for Back to School at Patriots Point. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
LOU: Las, Adams, Jones, Ordóñez, Dia (Totsch, 90’+1), Lambert, Davila (McCabe, 87’), McFadden, Serrano (E. Davila, 80’), Goodrum (Gleadle, 79’), Wilson (Ownby, 87’)
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos (Kelly, 46’), Akpunonu (Archer, 46’), Smith, Blackstock (Ycaza, 46’), A. Rodriguez, Houssou (Martínez, 63’), Molloy, Torres (Rubín, 46’), Myers, Jennings
Scoring Summary
LOU – Phillip Goodrum, 3’ (Aiden McFadden)
LOU – Jansen Wilson, 16’ (Ray Serrano)
LOU – Jansen Wilson, 28’ (Taylor Davila)
CHS – MD Myers, 52’ (Cal Jennings)
