The Charleston Battery played Detroit City FC to a 1-1 draw on Saturday at Patriots Point. After a scoreless first hour of action, both sides found the back of the net in quick succession. MD Myers scored in the 65th minute, and Detroit equalized a minute later. The game would carry on as a stalemate, extending the Battery’s current unbeaten run to six matches.
Charleston started the match on the front foot and recorded two shots on target in the opening 10 minutes. Cal Jennings and MD Myers tested goalkeeper Carlos Herrera, but both of their attempts were saved. On the other end, goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made his first save of the match in the 12th minute, denying Ates Diouf.
Douglas Martínez, deputizing at right-back, delivered a cross into the box for Myers in the 31st minute, but Myers’ header drifted just wide of the back post.
The match went into the break tied and scoreless. Shots were relatively even at Charleston’s six to Detroit’s five, but the Battery dominated possession at roughly 72% retained.
Play resumed for the second half with both sides looking to score the night’s first goal.
A nervy moment for the hosts occurred in the 55th minute when Detroit’s pressure on a pass to Aaron Molloy inside the Battery’s defensive third nearly led to the opener off the ricochet, but Zamudio was there to collect the ball.
Charleston broke the deadlock in the 65th minute when Myers pounced on a loose ball following an Aaron Molloy corner kick to make the score 1-0. Molloy’s initial delivery was deflected by Michael Bryant, but Myers was at the right place at the right time to knock the ball in off the volley.
It’s Myers’ fifth consecutive game with a goal and his 15th of the league campaign, placing him one behind Cal Jennings in the Golden Boot race, as of writing. It’s also his 19th goal across all competitions, the most on the team and matching his career best.
Just moments later in the 66th minute, however, Detroit managed to level the score at 1-1 via Ates Diouf.
Charleston and Detroit aimed for the go-ahead goal in the final 24 minutes, but neither side recorded a shot on target for the rest of the night. Myers had a shot blocked in the 71st minute, and Jennings was off target in the 81st minute.
The match ended 1-1, with the points shared between Charleston and Detroit.
Saturday’s draw moves the Battery’s record to 18W-5L-5D (59pts). It’s the third consecutive draw between Charleston and Detroit at Patriots Point.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward MD Myers addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on overall takeaways from the game…
It was a solid performance, not as strong of a performance as we would have wanted. Fair credit to Detroit. They’re playing for their playoff lives. Once that goal went in, we were sloppy and casual, and they made us pay for it, which is going to happen in a playoff game. So, we’ve got to learn from that.
We were dominant in pretty much every phase. I think we need to be a little bit more assertive, a little bit more aggressive, maybe even a little bit more reckless around the final third, because we have a lot of very good attacking players in the squad; Arturo, Rubio coming in, Segbers, MD, Cal, guys that can score goals. I want to get the ball to them a little bit more, especially against teams that sit so low off of us. But good game by Detroit, good game by us. We just feel a little bit disappointed to drop two points, but a good game overall.
Coach Pirmann on difficulties posed by Detroit…
They’re aggressive in marking our entry passes. We needed more passes across the ground diagonally versus straightforward. And then, like I said, a little bit more direct, a little bit more reckless but then if you do that, it opens up and you don’t want to lose control of the tempo. So, fair play. That was a playoff team and a playoff-type match. We needed to be a little bit more creative, I think, at times.
Myers on his overall assessment of the match…
I thought we fought hard. We had a lot of the ball. We created some really good opportunities. I think we could have been a little more clinical in the final third, but we got one goal, and probably should have had a few more. That’s a playoff game, so we need to get used to playing like that. It’s going to be a little more cagey, and we have to find ways to get the win.
They really sat in, defended hard. They got into us in the final third, and that’s challenging sometimes. If you don’t find that first goal early, it can be complicated.
Myers on his goal and current scoring streak…
I think we had a lot of great balls in the box today, a bunch of corner kicks, and I was just trying to get to the back post and look for a flick on, and I got it. It came right to my foot, and I really couldn’t miss from there.
Confidence is everything for a striker, and I feel really good out there, really comfortable, and the guys are getting me in good positions. I’m finding the ball, and I’m just finishing it off. It’s been good.
Charleston will be away for their next match, against Sacramento Republic FC on Wed., Oct. 22. Battery’s next home game is on Sat., Oct. 25, against Birmingham Legion FC for the regular season finale. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock (Leggett, 89’), Akpunonu, Archer, Martínez (Dossantos, 77’), Houssou (Smith, 77’), Molloy, Rodríguez, Myers, Segbers (Rubín, 46’), Jennings (Conway, 90’+4)
DET: Herrera, LeFlore, Wiedt, Bryant, Yamazaki (Carroll, 88’), Diouf (Adebayo-Smith, 78’), Williams, Amoo-Mensah, Chapman, Guenzatti (Cedeño, 46’), Smith
Scoring Summary
CHS – MD Myers, 65’
DET – Alassane Diouf, 67’ (Jay Chapman)
