Saturday, June 23, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Charleston Battery defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders 3-1 on Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,634 fans. Midfielder Navion Boyd recorded a goal and an assist to lead the Battery to their ninth win of the season. With the win Charleston (9-3-0) remains in second position in USL PRO, five points behind Orlando City.
“The players performed very well tonight and can be proud of the way they acquitted themselves against a strong team,” said Charleston Battery head coach Mike Anhaeuser. “Scoring the goal just before halftime was critical as it game us the momentum and allowed us to dictate the tempo of the game after halftime.”
After a chippy opening that saw both teams create chances, but the Battery finally broke the deadlock in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Nicki Paterson slipped the ball out to Boyd on the right side. He skipped past his defender and squared the ball to Jose Cuevas, who took the pass in stride and drilled a volleyed finish past Harrisburg goalkeeper Nick Noble.
Charleston pressed its advantage after the break and doubled the lead in the 50th minute. Forward Sallieu Bundu ran onto a through-ball, then clipped the ball across to the back post allowing Boyd a simple tap-in for his first goal in a Battery uniform.
Harrisburg's response was immediate and the City Islanders pulled a goal back within two minutes. Midfielder Drew Yates managed to evade his marker and cut a pass across the face of the goal. Forward Tom Mellor hit a first-time shot that Battery goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra got a hand to, but could not prevent the ball from crossing the line.
With the Battery’s lead reduced to one goal the game hung in the balance and became very open as both teams traded attacks. Dykstra made an excellent save in the 68th minute to deny substitute forward Lucky Mkosana after Colin Falvey miscued a back header.
At the other end Charleston has several chances themselves but in the end it was substitute midfielder Ryan Richter who put the result beyond doubt, stroking the ball home with a neat left-footed finish from 10 yards in the 87th minute.
Next up for the Battery is a two game road trip to Antigua & Barbuda. Charleston plays the Antigua Barracuda’s on Friday, June 28 and Sunday July 1; both matches kick off at 7:00 PM (1340 AM).
