Defense sparks Battery to fifth straight victory

Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier

Battery goalkeeper Keith Wiggans blocks a Silverbacks shot Saturday night.

Battery 2, Silverbacks 0

Charleston keeper Keith Wiggans likes it when the Battery makes his job boring.

Randi Patterson scored for the fifth straight game and Aaron King added a goal as Charleston blanked Atlanta, 2-0, on Saturday night before a crowd of 4,861 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery, which won for the fifth consecutive time, improved to 5-1-2 (17 points) and remained in first place in the USL First Division. Atlanta dropped to 2-3-2 (8 points).

Wiggans was forced to make just one save Saturday night as he recorded his third straight shutout in as many games. Wiggans was pressed into duty 10 days ago against Montreal when starting keeper Dusty Hudock started to experience back spasms during warmups. The former

College of Charleston keeper has not allowed a goal since entering the lineup.

"Boring is good for me," Wiggans said. "The more boring the game is for me the better it is because that means the guys in front of me are playing well. The back four guys have been playing great for me since I got into the lineup. They've been superb.

"We're defending with 11 guys and that's why we've been so good defensively here lately. It starts up front; the guys in the midfield have been playing well, and when they get to the back four they've been great at keeping everything away from me."

Playing without starting veteran defender Marco Reda didn't seem to hurt the Battery's defensive effort.

"I think everyone has bought into the defensive concept and everyone seems ready to play when they are getting the opportunity to play," said defender Nelson Akwari. "We've got a lot of depth in the back and it doesn't seem to matter who we put out there. You can't really replace a guy like Marco because of his experience, but we didn't make too many mistakes tonight."

Patterson, who leads the USL First Division with six goals, continued his scoring streak with his sixth goal in the last five games.

"I'm speechless. I can't believe it's happening like this," Patterson said. "I'm just trying to play well and score goals. I'm getting lucky. The bounces are going my way. I'm trying to work hard and get chances, and things seem to be going my way right now."

It was the fifth straight win overall and the fourth consecutive victory at home for the Battery.

"We're on a nice little roll right now," said Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. "The feeling is very good in the locker room and on the pitch. Randi got another goal and we were very solid defensively. That's a very good combination to have."

Patterson made it a 1-0 lead with his league-leading sixth goal of the season in the 31st minute.

Midfielder Chris Williams headed a ball to Patterson on the left side of the Silverbacks defense. Patterson stepped past an Atlanta defender and slid the ball under a diving Ryan McIntosh for the score.

"Great header from Chris," Patterson said. "I was trying to get a low shot on (McIntosh). I had seen him jump a lot, so I wanted to put the ball on the ground."

The Silverbacks got their best chance at a goal in the 61st minute when striker Ansu Toure got behind the Battery defenders on the left side. Toure took a strong run and then blasted a ball on net that forced Wiggans to make a diving save to stop.

The Battery pushed its advantage to 2-0 on King's rebound goal in the 75th minute. After a foul on Atlanta defender Martin Lancaster, the Battery had a free kick from about 30 yards out. Midfielder Osvaldo Alonso took a hard shot that ricocheted off an Atlanta defender inside the 18-yard box. The ball bounced right to King, who volleyed it past McIntosh for the score.

Headers

--Reda missed the game with a sprained ankle.

--Keeper Dusty Hudock, who missed the last two games with back spasms, was available as a substitute.

--Midfielder Stephen Armstrong, who has missed the first seven games with a sprained ankle, got his first action of the season, getting into the game in the final two minutes of the game.

--The Battery is now 20-16-5 against Atlanta.