Battery's offense all wet

Battery 0, Islanders 0

Sitting slumped on the Battery's bench, midfielder Lazo Alavanja took a sip of water and looked up at the scoreboard at Blackbaud Stadium.

The former University of Indiana star shook his head and slammed his water bottle on the ground.

Alavanja wasn't the only one frustrated by Charleston's performance in its 0-0 draw with Puerto Rico on Saturday night before a crowd of 3,588.

The Battery, 3-0-2 in its last five home games, is in sixth place in the USL First Division with a mark of 5-6-5 (20 points). The Islanders are 3-4-7 (16 points).

Battery's offense all wet in 0-0 draw

What made Alavanja and the rest of his teammates so upset was the fact that the Battery spent most of the match defending the Islanders' attack.

'I bet we spent 70 or 80 minutes defending tonight,' said Charleston defender Tim Karalexis. 'It seems like we've done that the last five or six games. It's pretty frustrating to defend that long. It takes a lot out of you, I know it takes a lot out of me.

'We've got to keep the ball in the midfield longer. We'd win the ball tonight and then we'd give it away. That seems to be the theme lately. It was a pretty frustrating performance.

Part of the problem for both teams was the weather. The two teams battled through a torrential downpour for most of the first half.

'You had no idea where some of the balls were going in the first half,' Karalexis said. 'It would get caught in a puddle one time and the next time it would skid across the grass, so the conditions were pretty tough. But both teams had to play in them, so thats no excuse.'

The Islanders controlled the ball for most of the match and easily outshot the Battery, 17-5. Charleston managed just one shot in the first half.

'The conditions favored a strong, more direct game,' said Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. 'It seemed like we spent the entire match defending and it wasn't one of our better games defensively. We allowed them straight passes.

'When we did get the ball we gave it away almost immediately. We didnt have the confidence to roll it around and make something happen. For 75 minutes we didn't have the confidence to go forward. No one can defend for 70, 80 minutes. No one has that kind of energy.'

What bothered Anhaeuser the most were the quality chances the Islanders got, which came in bunches in the second half.

'We gave up way too many clear-cut chances,' Anhaeuser said. 'It wasn't that they got through balls, but they had a lot of 20-yard shots and eventually those shots are going to go in.'

Which is something that will definitely occur Tuesday night when the Battery takes on Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.

'We give up that many chances to Houston and theyre going to make us pay,' Anhaeuser said.

Midfielder Ian Bennett and defender Lou Rolko were two of the few bright spots for the Battery. Rolko replaced outside defender Lee Sandwina, who left the game in the 78th minute with a calf injury.

'I thought Ian gave us a lift when he came in and he created a couple of chances their late in the game,' Anhaeuser said. 'Lou came in and performed well. He did his job. He probably earned a spot Tuesday night against Houston.'

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Charleston striker Byron Alvarez, the Battery's leading goal-scorer, missed the game with an accumulation of yellow cards.

Alvarez is second in the USL First Division with six goals this season.

Midfielder Michael Richardson was also unavailable after receiving a red card against Atlanta this past Wednesday night.

Defender Brandon Curran (concussion) and Kevin Nylen (foot) and midfielder Ian Fuller (hamstring) were out of the lineup with injuries.

Outside back Anthony Catalano replaced Curran in the lineup at center back.

Puerto Rico back-up keeper Michael Behumick and defender Jeremie Piette each played for the Battery earlier in their careers.

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