Battery rallies for two late goals in win over rival

Mic Smith

The Battery’s Stephen Armstrong (right) battles for the ball with Atlanta’s Martyn Lancaster at Blackbaud Stadium on Friday.

Battery 2, Silverbacks 1

Trailing by one goal with three minutes left in the match, the Charleston Battery looked like a team ready to start its July 4th holiday a couple of weeks early.

But somehow, the Battery found some energy and got goals from Aaron King and Stephen Armstrong to pull out an improbable 2-1 victory over the Silverbacks on Friday night before a capacity crowd of 5,760 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery, which has won three of their last four games, improved to 5-4-3 (18 points) and moved into fourth place in the USL First Division. The Silverbacks dropped to 3-5-4 (13 points).

For most of the game the Battery showed little life, losing most of the individual battles with the rival Silverbacks.

"We looked heavy for most the match," Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser said. "Things were definitely not going our way and we didn't look sharp at all defensively from the beginning.

"But we hung in there. We got a couple of great saves from Dusty (Hudock) early in the second half and anytime you continue to work hard, something good can happen. We had 5,000 fans here and you've got to credit them all for staying. They helped the boys bring this one

home. What a great ending."

While Anhaeuser said it wasn't one of the Battery's better performances, he'll take the three points in the standings.

"It was a great comeback," Anhaeuser said. "It certainly wasn't one of our best games, but when you can come back with six or seven minutes left in the game and win it, you've got to commend the guys on that. Especially when it's warm and your legs are heavy."

The turning point in the game came late in the second half when Anhaeuser inserted King, Ian Bennett and Mike Richardson into the lineup.

"I thought all three of them gave us a little energy," Armstrong said. "We were holding the ball too long in the first half, but they came in and gave us a nice spark."

The Silverbacks broke the scoreless tie on Scott Buete's goal in the 36th minute.

Buete got the ball just outside the 18-yard box and passed it forward to Daniel Antoniuk just inside the 18-yard box. Buete cut through the Battery defense and Antoniuk tapped the ball back to the Atlanta midfielder, who easily Hudock for the score.

Five minutes into the second half, the Silverbacks had back-to-back scoring opportunities. Two times the Silverbacks fed the ball to striker Warren Ukah, who got behind the Battery defense. The first time, Hudock made a strong challenge, stopping Ukah's shot with a sliding chest save.

A minute latter, Ukah got behind the Battery defense again with a through ball, but Hudock deflected his shot attempt and the ball drifted just wide of the net.

"Just two great saves from Dusty," Anhaeuser said. "That kept us in the game."

Charleston finally drew even on King's goal in the 87th minute.

Richardson got the ball about 25 yards out and slipped a beautiful pass through the Silverbacks to King, who volleyed the ball past Atlanta keeper Felipe Quintero for the goal.

"Mike and I have been working great in practice together," King said.

"He gave me a great through ball. I concentrated and I was lucky to tuck it in for the score."

Three minutes later, King was taken down in the box by Atlanta defender Matt Bobo and awarded a penalty kick.

"I tried to turn on (Bobo). We were desperate at that point," King said.

"I think I caught him off guard a little and he took my legs out. It was a good call."

After some pushing and shoving between the two teams, Armstrong got the game winner with a low, hard penalty kick that beat a diving Quintero for the score in stoppage time.

"I was going low side the whole way," Armstrong said. "I didn't want to change my mind. Bad things usually happen when you change your mind. The pushing and shoving bothered me a little bit. I had my back to (Quintero) because I didn't want him to get in my head."

Headers

--The Battery observed a moment of silence before the game to honor the nine firefighters, who lost their lives in Monday's blaze. The Battery players also wore Charleston Fire Department patches on their jerseys.

--The Battery will take on the El Paso Patriots in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup Tuesday night beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium.

If Charleston beats El Paso, the Battery would host Major League Soccer Houston Dynamo on July 10 at Blackbaud Stadium.

Reach Andrew Miller at 937-5599 apmiller@postandcourier.com.