The Charleston Battery played Sacramento Republic FC to a 1-1 draw in Week 20 of the USL Championship regular season at Patriots Point on Saturday. Charleston clawed back from a 0-1 deficit when Emilio Ycaza converted from the penalty spot with roughly 20 minutes left to play. The Battery went up a man after a Sacramento red card following the equalizer, but were unable to score a match winner before the final whistle.
The Battery and Republic FC kicked off amid near-90° temperatures, with both sides eager to bounce back from losses the previous weekend.
Sacramento had the first close look of the night in the 8th minute when Mark-Anthony Kaye’s shot narrowly went over the crossbar after catching a deflection. On the other end, Colton Swan unleashed a strong shot from distance in the 11th minute that went just wide of the goal frame.
A near calamitous moment for the Battery occurred in the 25th minute when Sacramento’s Blake Willey stole the ball and scored from Charleston’s defensive third. However, a handball was called on Willey to nullify the goal.
The game went into the break tied at 0-0. Neither side recorded a shot on target.
Play resumed in the second half with all still to play for.
Sacramento managed to pull ahead, 0-1, in the 48th minute via Forster Ajago.
Charleston were quick to battle back with Miguel Berry leading the line. Berry recorded the side’s first shot on target of the night in the 55th minute, a curler that was saved by goalkeeper Danny Vitiello. Berry again came close with a turn-and-shoot effort minutes later that went just wide of the post, and again with an acrobatic effort in the 63rd minute that was saved.
A notable moment occurred in the 66th minute when Laurent Kissiedou entered the match off the bench to record his 150th career USL Championship regular season appearance.
The Battery were offered a chance to level the match when they were awarded a penalty in the 70th minute after Aaron Essel brought down Colton Swan in the box.
Emilio Ycaza stepped up to the spot and confidently slotted his penalty into the bottom corner opposite Vitiello’s dive in the 73rd minute, bringing Charleston even at 1-1.
Ycaza’s goal was his fifth of the year. The skipper has now contributed to a goal in three consecutive home league matches (three goals and three assists).
The complexion of the game altered just minutes later when Sacramento were reduced to 10 men after Ajago was dismissed with a red card for violent conduct. Tempers flared after the equalizer, and an altercation ensued with multiple players in the middle of it, appearing to start when Ajago made contact with Ycaza, earning him the red card.
Up a man, Charleston pushed forward heavily for a late winner. Substitutes Langston Blackstock and Alec Hughes both recorded shots on target in the 82nd and 85th minutes, respectively, but both were saved.
The game’s last shot was a narrowly wide effort by Wilmer Cabrera in the 99th minute.
Charleston were forced to share the points with Sacramento in the end after the 1-1 draw. The result extends Charleston’s undefeated run at home to 22 games in regular season play.
The Battery’s record moves to 8W-5L-3D (27pts) following the result, placing them in second place in the Eastern Conference table, as of writing.
Additionally, Charleston have won nine points from losing positions in the USL Championship this season, only Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (10), the Battery’s next opponent, have recovered more.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Emilio Ycaza addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his overall thoughts about the match…
It was a very disappointing performance, but I think the first thing that should be said is Sacramento played a great game. We got thoroughly outcoached, and in the first 49 minutes, or whatever it was, we got thoroughly outworked. Then we started playing. That was really disappointing.
If you look at the last three weekends, we lost at Indy on a red card – OK, no problem. Last weekend we created a lot of chances but blew it. And then we didn’t respond this week.
We’ve got to get back to outworking opponents, because we didn’t deserve to win this game tonight. We very easily could have in the last 15 minutes, up a man, and the chances, with loads and loads of chances, but we only got that because they got the red card. We only got that because of some things that we didn’t earn.
Coach Pirmann on trying to pinpoint where to make improvements…
I’ve been looking at it for 10 or 12 days, and I’m going to be looking at it for six more days. How to pinpoint it, I’m not quite sure. I think if we try to identify where we’re struggling, there was a little bit of tactical stuff that was wrong that was on me. I can fix that, and the boys respond very well to information. It’s not physiological.
I was just disappointed in some of the mentality tonight. But, like you saw, when they scored the goal, immediately you could see it. We’ll get better. We’ve got 14 games left, but if we keep wasting them, we might not make the playoffs if we keep going like this.
Ycaza on his overall assessment of the night after the draw…
It’s always great to come back from a losing position. It speaks a lot about the character of the boys. But there’s a bitter feeling of feeling like we dropped two points.
It’s the middle of summer. I think [the results are] normal. We go up and down. A couple weeks ago we were talking because we were on a high, and now it’s just about not getting too low or getting too high. It’s about bouncing back. We’ve got a hard game on the road, but I think if we go there and get a result, we can kind of get out of the summer with a good feeling.
Ycaza on the difficulties faced during the match…
Yeah, I’m not exactly sure what it was. There was definitely a little bit of sloppiness all around, easy mistakes. It was hot in the first half.
I don’t know. I thought we did well in the first half, even though we weren’t playing well, not to concede. Just unfortunate on the goal. I think it’s always important to reflect on the good moments, to bounce back from 0-1 down on a day when you’re not playing well is a sign of a good team.
Charleston hit the road for their next match, against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on July 25. The Battery’s next home game will be on Sat., Aug. 1, against Brooklyn FC. 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, Messer, Akpunonu, Suber, Martínez (Cabrera, 84’), Pakhomov (Kissiedou, 66’), Ycaza, Kelly, Berry, Foster (Blackstock, 66’), Swan (Hughes, 76’)
SAC – Vitiello, Essel, Desmond, Timmer, Gurr, Kaye, Casas (Crisostomo, 66’), Malango (Wolff, 66’), Rodríguez (Midence, 87’), Willey (Ukaegbu, 79’), Ajago
Scoring Summary
SAC – Forster Ajago, 48’ (Jared Timmer)
CHS – Emilio Ycaza, 73’
