The Charleston Battery fell 1-2 to Hartford Athletic in Week 27 of the USL Championship regular season at Patriots Point on Saturday. Charleston opened the scoring via Kirill Pakhomov in the 29th minute, but a red card in the 60th minute to Nathan Messer reduced the Battery to 10 men for the rest of the night. Hartford were granted a penalty to equalize in the 75th minute and scored the go-ahead goal at the end of stoppage time. The result snapped Charleston’s home unbeaten run after 24 regular season games.
Charleston and Hartford kicked off amid paw-fect conditions as the club was also celebrating Pups at the Pitch at Patriots Point.
The Battery nearly scored the opener in the 1st minute, but his promising look on goal ended in a shot over the crossbar. Jeremy Kelly forced a save from goalkeeper Anthony Siaha in the 3rd minute with a strong strike from distance.
Hartford thought they scored the opener in the 14th minute via Augu Williams, but the referee’s flag was raised for offside.
Charleston took the lead in the 29th minute when Kirill Pakhomov fired the hosts in front after a set-piece play. Nathan Messer played the corner kick short to Jeremy Kelly, and Kelly played a low cross into the box to Pakhomov, who was waiting near the penalty spot. Pakhomov struck the ball with his first touch and slotted it home with enough pace to overcome a slight deflection.
Pakhomov’s goal was his third of the year. Kelly’s assist was his eighth of 2026, and his seventh in league play, placing him into a tie for the league lead, as of writing.
Goalkeeper John Berner made his first save of the night in the 37th to deny Michee Ngalina with a clutch effort.
The Battery took the 1-0 lead into the break after recording five shots on target (14 total) and holding 60.1% possession.
Play resumed in the second half with all still to play for despite the 1-0 scoreline.
The complexion of the game was altered in the 60th minute when Nathan Messer was shown his second yellow card of the night, and a subsequent red card, for a foul against Hartford, reducing the Battery to 10 men for the remainder of the evening.
Hartford were awarded back into the game in the 73rd minute when a penalty was called against Douglas Martinez for a foul in the box against Sadat Anaku. Michee Ngalina converted from the spot in the 75th minute, despite Berner’s correct guess, to level the score at 1-1.
Down a man, Charleston looked to preserve a point amid the 1-1 score for the remaining quarter-hour to play.
The visitors managed to score the go-ahead goal in the 97th minute via Barry Coffey to take a 1-2 lead at the death.
Hartford held on to secure the 1-2 win, snapping the Battery’s home unbeaten run at 24 regular season games.
The result moves the Battery’s record to 12W-8L-3D (39pts), placing them second in the Eastern Conference table going into the weekend.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Jeremy Kelly addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his overall takeaways from the match…
Proud of our team. Fair credit to Brendan [Burke] and Hartford. They can’t control the ref. They just have to fight and play, and they did a good job.
We were very likely to make it 2-0. Their goalie was playing great. We were on them, we had their press nullified. And then it was ruined with, I think, like 30 minutes left. So there’s not much to say. We haven’t lost 11-11 on this field, I think, since like 2024, or whatever it was, at least in the regular season. But, silly penalty to concede. You’ve got to give [Barry] Coffey credit at the end there with a minute left, to make the header on the restart to win it.
Coach Pirmann on the learning from tonight’s game…
We got to rest. We got to recuperate. That was a stinger, that one hurt. What we deserve and don’t deserve, doesn’t matter in life, it’s not fair. I thought we played really well. I thought we did everything to put ourselves in a position to try to push towards the top of the table, and it was snatched from us. So, that is what it is.
Like you said, 10 days, we’ll give the team a few days off, and then we’ll come back, and we’ll go to Birmingham, who are fighting for their lives, and try to go from there.
Coach Pirmann on the team’s performance prior to the red card…
The first 60 minutes we turned the ball over twice, and they had two outlets. [John Berner] made the save. Our ball movement through the high press was good. Our chance creation was good. We had seven, eight shots within 12, 13 yards of goal. A couple good saves, a couple bad misses, a couple unlucky things here and there, and a nice goal. Unfortunately, that’s the narrative of the night, was nont that. A lot of good positives for 60 minutes, and then it wasn’t.
Kelly on his immediate assessment of the game…
For 60 minutes, I thought we had the better chances. Probably should have put a few more away. But we were creating chances and moving the ball. They have some pacey guys up top, and they’re always a threat on the counter. So I thought we dealt with that all right. They had a few chances, too, but that’s going to happen, especially on a hot, humid day like today.
And the red card’s unfortunate. Penalties happen. We tried our hardest to just see it out, end the game 1-1, and it didn’t happen.
Kelly on Hartford’s threat in counterattacks…
They’re one of the few teams with dangerous players up top in terms of pace on the counter, and they don’t really care about much else. They want to hit you on the counter, and every one of their front four is a threat, even some of their guys on the bench.
So they can have 25% possession, but they’re going to be dangerous when they get it on the counter. And that’s what we tried to limit, and for the most part, we did a good job.
Kelly on the upcoming break before the final stretch of the regular season…
I think the break helps. It would have been nice going in with three wins on the trot, but it’s all good. Still, nine games left to play. So it’s still within reach to finish first. We’ve got some big games coming up to go into the playoffs with some momentum.
Charleston’s next match will be away vs. Birmingham Legion FC on September 12. The next home game is on September 19 vs. Monterey Bay FC, as the club celebrates Hispanic Heritage Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
Berner, Messer, Akpunonu, Smith, Martínez (Kissiedou, 78’), Ycaza, Pakhomov, Kelly (Swan, 86’), Berry (Hughes, 86’), Foster (Blackstock, 78’), Cabrera (Houssou, 61’)
Siaha, Fischer (Presthus, 57’), Scarlett, Diz, Samadia (Njie, 71’), Moreira, Makangila (Adedokun, 71’), Anderson, Coffey, Williams (Anaku, 71’), Ngalina (Real, 86’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Kirill Pakhomov, 29’ (Jeremy Kelly)
HFD – Michee Ngalina, 75’
HFD – Barry Coffey, 90’+7
