Battery battles Red Bulls to tie in opener
Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier
New York's Mike Magee grabs The Battery's Lazo Alavanja during the first period of their exhibition match Sunday afternoon at Blackbaud Stadium.
Battery 1, Red Bulls 1
When is a draw considered a win? When you're the Charleston Battery and you're playing against a team from Major League Soccer.
The Charleston Battery and New York Red Bulls each got goals late in the second half and had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the opening round of the Carolina Challenge Cup on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of about 1,000 at Blackbaud Stadium.
The Battery will take on San Jose on Wednesday beginning at 8:15 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium. New York will face Toronto FC at 6 p.m. in the first game of the doubleheader.
The game Sunday was originally scheduled to be played Saturday night, but was moved due to severe weather in the Lowcountry.
In a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams generate plenty of solid scoring chances, the Battery was able to challenge their MLS opponent throughout the match. While the Red Bulls held a 15-10 advantage on shots during the match, the two teams generated about the same quality scoring opportunities.
"I thought the first half both teams had some nice chances and we were pretty sound defensively throughout the match," said Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. "The second half opened up for both teams. They got a goal late in the second half and we answered almost immediately, and that was great to see because I think that shows the character we have on this team."
"I thought it was a very good effort by everyone, especially considering it was our first real game of the preseason. A draw puts us right in there for the rest of the tournament."
Having been together for about 10 days, the Battery put together a solid defensive effort against the Red Bulls.
"I thought it was a great result," said Battery defender John Wilson. "We've only been together for about two weeks, and defensively I thought we kept our shape pretty well. I was impressed with the way we were able to keep possession of the ball for a lot of the game."
The Red Bulls had an excellent chance to score in the 19th minute when midfielder Danleigh Borman served a beautiful ball into the 6-yard box to Juan Pablo Angel. But Angel's header just slipped over the cross bar.
The Battery countered just two minutes later when midfielder Mike Richardson made a strong run down the left side to just outside the 6-yard box. New York keeper Jon Conway crowded the near post and punched Richardson's blast out of bounds for a Battery corner kick.
The Battery had another solid scoring chance in the 32nd minute when striker Aaron King picked up a loose ball just outside the 18-yard box and started toward the goal. But Conway came out to challenge King's run and got just enough of the ball to deflect it wide of the goal.
The Red Bulls just missed a goal in the 37th minute off a set piece. Borman served the ball from about 25 yards out on the right side to the back post. Mike Magee was on the other end, but his header bounced off the left post to end the threat.
The Red Bulls appeared to score a goal in the 69th minute when striker Chris Megaloudis redirected a ball past Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock from just outside the 6-yard box. However, the Red Bulls were called for offsides.
New York finally broke open the scoreless tie off a set piece on Kevin Mesa's header in the 79th minute. After Charleston's Brandon Curren was called for a foul, New York's Sinisa Ubiparipovic served the ball from about 25 yards out on the left side. Mesa, a trial player for the Red Bulls, leaped into the air and got just enough of his head on the ball to get it past Hudock for the score.
Charleston answered less than a minute later when David Kenga made a strong run down the left side, dribbled past a New York defender, and hit a hard, low shot that just got past Zach Thornton for the goal in the 80th minute.
"I got a chance to take a shot and I didn't want to blow it," Kenga said. "They had just stabbed us in the heart with their goal and we wanted to answer immediately. New York is a big team, but it's not about names on the front of the jersey, it's about giving it your all every time you're on the field."
The Battery had a chance to win the game in stoppage time when Kendall Jagdeosingh came storming down the right flank, dribbled past a Red Bulls defender, and took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. The shot was curling toward the back post, but Thornton made a diving effort and got just enough of the ball to knock it off the post and out of danger.
"That was a great individual effort by Kendall and certainly we could have won the game outright with that shot," Anhaeuser said. "A couple more inches to the right and that ball is tucked in on the far post."
Battery Notes
@The Battery played without Stephen Armstrong, the team's leading scorer last season, and midfielder Lazo Alavanja.
Armstrong is playing for the Chicago Storm in the MISL, while Alavanja is playing for the New Jersey Ironmen.
@Striker Lester More, midfielder Ian Fuller and Chris Corcoran were unavailable because of injuries.
@The Red Bulls were without three of the top players. Striker Jozy Altidore and defender Hunter Freeman were called up to the United States' under-23 national team for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament this week. Midfielder Dane Richards, a former Clemson standout, has a knee injury and will miss at least two months.
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