The Charleston Battery were defeated 0-4 by Indy Eleven on Friday at Patriots Point. An early red card to Leland Archer forced Charleston to carry on with just 10 for nearly the entire game, a disadvantage that proved too much to overcome as the game wore on. The Battery will have a chance to bounce back quickly in their next match, on Wednesday at home against Detroit City FC.
The visitors were awarded an early advantage when Leland Archer was shown a red card following contact with Sebastian Guenzatti in the 18-yard box that sent Guenzatti to ground. Aohdan Quinn converted the spot attempt to give Indy the lead in the 2nd minute. Referee Sergii Demianchuk has issued four red cards in eight USL Championship games this season, no referee has given more. The Black and Yellow would carry on with 10 men for the remainder of the evening.
Ben Pirmann was forced into an early personnel change, bringing on Juan Sebastian Palma for Arturo Rodriguez due to playing a man down. The Battery remained steadfast in taking the pressure to the visitors, winning free kicks in dangerous spots, but were unable to find the back of the net.
The halftime whistle sounded and Indy took a 0-1 lead into the break.
Charleston’s best chances turned up around the hour mark. Beto Avila came off the bench and quickly led an attack deep into Indy’s defensive third in the 56th minute. Avila connected with Robbie Crawford and Crawford whipped in a cross that Augi Williams nearly put into the net. Avila won a free kick moments later, which Nick Markanich would take and whose shot curled just wide of the near post.
The visitors would strike three times after the 70th minute while a man up. Quinn converted from the penalty spot again in the 72nd minute, Roberto Molina scored in the 75th minute and a Robbie Crawford own goal came in the 80th minute.
Joe Schmidt almost got one back for the Battery in the 84th minute, but his strike from the edge of the box was inches wide of the far post. Dante Polvara registered a shot on target moments later that almost slipped through goalkeeper Yannik Oettl’s grip to cross over the line.
Friday’s contest would end 0-4 in favor Indy. Charleston’s record now stands at 7W-3L-3D (24 pts) in USL Championship play.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and defender Deklan Wynne discussed the match after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on the performance after being down a man for virtually the entire match…
For 70 minutes, we played with bravery, we played with courage, I’m proud of that effort. We have to fix something to make sure we’re starting games better at home. When you step back and look at it, we got a little bit better there for a large portion and then it got away from us at the end. No fault to our players, they gave it their all. When you play down like that for literally 100% of the game, it’s tough. The good thing about this sport is that we’ve got a game in five days, we’ll try to do our best again on Wednesday.
Coach Pirmann on moving forward from tonight’s result…
If you just look at the performance, you look at the attitude, you look at the effort; for 70 minutes, we were really on top of them and tried our best. We did some really good things and implemented our game plan. But, teams are not coming into this place afraid to play us. That’s a problem. We’ve got to fix it.
It’s one game. We’ve got what I say 21 games left to just keep getting better. We’re still in a really good spot. We’ve still done a lot of great things this year. We’ve just gotta keep improving.
Coach Pirmann the quick turnaround to Wednesday’s home match against Detroit…
The biggest thing is, mentally, just refreshing. Then making sure we come back Sunday, Monday and Tuesday preparing for Detroit. They’re hot, they beat the champs [San Antonio FC]. They’re coming off a good week of rest, so we’ve got to make sure that our energy is there. We‘ve got to make sure that we put our best foot forward.
They’re a playoff team. They are very distinct in their system and their pattern of play. They’re very comfortable out of possession, they do not give much up, which will make us suffer when we’re on the ball. So, we’ve got to be dialed in. They’re as good as any other team in the league and I think we can compete with any team in the league. It’ll be a 50-50 match.
Wynne on his assessment of the game…
It’s hard to really pinpoint what happened. We were playing down a man for pretty much the whole game, that’s always tough. We were in the game the whole time, but that’s what happens sometimes; once you concede one, a couple more go. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. We couldn’t put one away tonight, but we have another game on Wednesday.
Wynne on working to rebound on Wednesday against his former club…
It’s a quick turnaround. So we look forward to the next game on Wednesday. Playing the whole game down a man, and being in the game for most of it, is a positive thing we can take going into the next game.
We’ll start [preparations] on Sunday and focus on what we need against Detroit to do to pick up three points and bounce back from this game we can. It’s business as usual, it’s always nice to see old teammates and the team I played with last year, but I want to win and help us win in any way I can.
The Battery will be back in action again soon to take on Detroit City FC on Wed., June 7, at Patriots Point. Fans can enjoy the summer-long $3 beer promotion at home matches, which continues through early August. Tickets are available now via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Scoring Summary
IND – 2’ Aodhan Quinn
IND – 72’ Aodhan Quinn
IND – 75’ Roberto Molina
IND – 80’ Robbie Crawford (Own Goal)
Lineups
CHS: Muse, Dodson (Cochran 73’), Wynne, Crawford, Archer, Paterson, Allan (Schmidt 73’), Polvara, Rodriguez (Palma 10’) (Avila 56’), Williams, Barajas (Markanich 56’)
IND: Oettl (Molina 58’), Vazquez, Diz Pe, Jerome, Rissi (Robledo 67’), Lindley, Quinn, Blake, Asante, Douglas Jr (Chavarria 86’), Guenzatti (Tejada 86’)
