CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Battery traveled to Canada Tuesday morning in preparation for its matinee match with FC Montreal Wednesday afternoon.
The Battery is coming off of a hard fought loss at home to the Rochester Rhinos. Justin Portillo opened the scoring in the 16th minute, converting a penalty after sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. The goal was the midfielder’s sixth of the season, which is the second-highest goal tally on the team behind Romario Williams.
The game was end-to-end following Portillo’s opening goal, with both teams pushing for three points to move up in the Eastern Conference standing. Despite the hosts creating several quality chances in the attacking third, it was the visitors who found two unanswered goals. The Battery threw numbers forward following the Rhinos’ equalizer, leaving the back four exposed on the counter attack. The loss was the Battery’s fourth at home this season.
FC Montreal has put together a nice run of matches after a terrible start to the 2016 season. The team won four straight games in the month of August, including a 3-1 victory over the Battery at MUSC Health Stadium. In their pervious match, FC Montreal were narrowly defeated by Louisville City FC, 1-0, at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard.
Wednesday’s match has added significance for the Battery following the loss to Rochester. Charleston now sits in seventh place, holding firmly to the second-to-last playoff position. The team clinched a playoff berth with its tie in Richmond last Wednesday and is now looking to move up in the table to earn a more favorable draw.
Four points separates third place from seventh, so Charleston still has a chance to make major moves in the Eastern Conference if the team can put together a good run of form. The Battery returns home this weekend and plays host to Bethlehem Steel FC for the first time in history Saturday night.
Wednesday’s match is scheduled to kickoff at 2:00pm and can be streamed via the USL Match Center.
Top Image: Shawn Ferguson battles for the ball vs FC Montreal.
Vin Duffy Photo
