Battery takes on RailHawks Saturday night
Posted 06:13 p.m., April 25, 2008
Since I wasn’t there for last Saturday’s Charleston Battery home opener against Seattle it’s kind of difficult for me to comment on how the team looked on the pitch.
But, you know what, that never stopped me in the past from giving my opinion.
From actually eye-witness accounts, second-hand information, innuendo, rumor and gossip I was able to pick up, the Battery looked strong for long stretches against Seattle. They certainly generated more than their share of scoring chances against the Sounders. For those of you who don’t know, and I’m sure most of you do, the Sounders are the defending USL First Division champs. The surprising thing is that the Sounders have all 11 starters back from last year’s championship game, which is highly unusual in minor league sports. There’s always going to be some turnover for every team at this level. According to Battery President Andrew Bell the starting 11 that played last Saturday for the Sounders was the same starting lineup they had in last year’s championship game.
The Battery played well enough to win and had a PK, but Mike Richardson’s attempt was saved by Sounders keeper Chris Eyelander. From what I’ve been told Richardson wasn’t suppose to take the PK. It was supposed to be taken by Osvaldo Alonso.
Speaking of Alonso, the former Cuban national team captain has been brilliant for the Battery in the midfield. There was much hoopla about his countryman Lester More, but Osvaldo appears to be the real deal. Both defected from the Cuban team last year.
To play the Sounders to a 1-1 tie in the second game of the season is pretty impressive. Especially when you consider that Stephen Armstrong and Lazo Alavajana were not in the lineup. Armstrong was the best player on the field for the Battery last season and his play-making ability in this league is second to none. Having him at the attacking midfielder position or on the outside, spraying the ball up top to Aaron King and Randi Patterson should be deadly. However, Armstrong still hasn’t reported to the team. He had a minor injury at the end of his MISL season and won’t be in the lineup Saturday night against the Carolina RailHawks. Armstrong might not be in the lineup for a couple of weeks, according to a team source.
The Battery takes on the RailHawks Saturday night in the third game of the season up in Cary, N.C. The Battery was 0-3 against the RailHawks last season and never scored a goal. That’s not good considering the RailHawks were an expansion team last season.
The Battery signed midfielder Chris William’s earlier in the week and the Toronto native will be available for selection against the RailHawks.
Battery midfielder Dominic Cianciarulo was been named the USL First Division Player of the Week. Cianciarulo scored both goals in the Battery’s 2-2 draw against Miami FC Blues in the season opener. The game marked Cianciarulo’s professional debut. Cianciarulo was signed by the Battery after impressing at player trials in February. A native of Deland, Fl, Cianciarulo, played for Furman. Cianciarulo did not play against Seattle because of a leg injury.
Alonso was named to the USL First Division Team of the Week.
See you on the Pitch,
APM
Comments
Posted by Mikey on April 25 at 7:52 p.m.
thanks again Andrew,
Too bad about Armstrong was hoping he' would at least be available for selection.
By the way Im sure your way to busy but you can watch the matches live on usllive.com and but they also archive all the matches so you can watch them again and again.
I wish the Stingrays well, but it will be nice to have you be able to spend more time on the Battery!
Posted by apmiller24 ( Andrew Miller ) on April 25 at 9:22 p.m.
Mikey,
I'm going to do my best to get more on the blog. ... Rays had a rough stretch there where it made it difficult to get anything done with the Battery. Should ease up a little now. I'll do better.
APM
Posted by soccamomma on April 26 at 5:35 a.m.
The boys really do look great this season. We want Armstrong back to kick it into high gear!
Post a comment