Battery defeat the Eagles 1-0

It wasn't pretty but the Battery took the win in front of 4083 at Blackbaud Stadium Saturday night.

Charleston seemed a little sloppy but defensively held the ball up well and starting goal keeper Andrew Dykstra registered 6 saves on the night

But the biggest save had to come from Johnny Wilson.  Minutes before the half Dykstra came out and cleared a ball at the top of the box.  The ball went directly to a Chalrotte player who lobbed a ball over the keeper.  Fortunately, Wilson was back peddling and made a spectacular jumping header off the line, falling flat on his back in the process.  There was tense moment or two when Wilson didn't jump directly up but luckily he was up in moments.

the Battery goal came off a some good hustle from Battery new comer Nicki Paterson in the 58 minute.  Paterson slipped a ball through the Eagles defense to Jamaican Dane Kelly.  Kelly  nearing the touch line crossed a powerful ball across the face of goal to Levi Coleman.  The Eagles defender beat Coleman to the ball but deflected it past the Eagle goalkeeper Eric Reed.

Quotes from the local newspaper The Post and Courier

"I thought we showed some nerves tonight," Coach Mike Anhaeuser said. "It was a sloppy effort. We didn't have a ton of possessions and there was some miscommunication between our forwards. At first we did a good job of getting the ball wide and switching the field, but we didn't keep that up. We've got to learn from this game and move onto next week."

"I thought for the most part we kept our shape defensively and kept them to the outside," said Anhaeuser. "Charlotte did a good job of keeping some pressure on us, but it didn't get many scoring chances until the very end of the game.  We got the shutout, we got the own goal and we got the three points and you've got to be happy with that."

Overall, No Quarter was pretty close on the line up.  Colin Falvey was unavailable for the match due to the red card that was held over from last season championship match.  New Zealand international Cole Peverley got the start in midfield along side Armstrong, Jackson, and Prince. 

You can find photos of the match by Kim Gregory Here
Box Score and Battery's post match write up

If you missed the match or just want to watch it again, you can find it archived at www.USLlive.com

Next up for the Battery is a road trip to Dayton, Ohio to take on the Dayton Dutch Lions on Saturday.  you can watch the game live at www.USLlive.com