Charleston Drop Another Close One to Tampa Bay
The Charleston Battery welcomed their most hated rival, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, to Patriot’s Point on Tuesday night, where they would go on to lose a heartbreaking match. Tampa came in knowing they could jump the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference and in USL overall. On the other hand, Charleston hoped that, with a win, they would jump the Charlotte Independence and move into a playoff spots. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for the well-rested home team.
The first half was pretty drab for both teams, except for a shot by Josh Penn (on loan from Inter Miami) that went just to the right of Evan Louro’s goal in the 25th minute. Fast forward to the second half, and you have a totally different game. The Battery came out of the half on the front foot, managing a good bit of possession in Tampa’s final third. Not long after that, things started to get a bit feisty for the yellow and black. First, Charleston defender Leland Archer was issued a yellow card for a foul on Steevan Dos Santos. Not long after, Tampa midfielder Lawrence Wyke received a yellow card for a hard foul on Robbie Crawford, kicking the ball away following the incident to ensured he got a yellow. Tampa Bay stepped up their attack in the 61st minute, as Rowdies forward Juan Tejada got a shot on frame, forcing Battery goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky to tip it onto the crossbar. Dos Santos was nearly able to head it home, though it managed to end up back onto the bar - Tampa was very close to getting the breakthrough goal in this exchange. Two minutes later, the Rowdies continued their attack, pressing deep into Charleston’s final third. Dos Santos had the ball near the end line and managed to find a wide-open Lewis Hilton at the top of the 18-yard box, who blasts the ball past Kuzminsky: the Rowdies now led 1-0.
“Fast forward to the second half, and you have a totally different game. The Battery came out of the half on the front foot, managing a good bit of possession in Tampa’s final third.“
In the 65th minute Charleston tried to respond quickly, with a shot by AJ Paterson that went just wide right – this was a golden opportunity, as the Tampa keeper didn’t know much about it. In the 80th minute, Rowdies defender Connor Antley did his best Cobra Kai impression, putting a cleat to the side of AJ Paterson’s head while attempting a high kick. After much discussion, including some pushing and shoving, the referee did the right thing and issues a straight red for Antley. Moments later, Archer pulled back on Tampa Bay forward Lucky Mkosana to stop a counterattack. Aided by the dramatics of Mkosana, the referee decided this foul was worthy of a second yellow for Archer. Curiously, Wyke’s hard foul just a few minutes earlier did not earn him a second yellow, which showed how inconsistent the refereeing was at this point.
“Curiously, Wyke’s hard foul just a few minutes earlier did not earn him a second yellow, which showed how inconsistent the refereeing was at this point.”
The game ended with a Battery cross that seemed to hit a Rowdie hand, but it may have been too close to the body for a hand ball. Nonetheless, the game ended in another 1-0 win for Tampa Bay, with some rowdiness continuing even after the final whistle. There was some pushing and shoving, as well as some words exchanged, which forced Rowdies goalkeeper Evan Louro to be led away by his teammates. Despite the loss, Charleston are starting to get some players back from injury, as they welcomed veteran leader Jarad van Schaik back into the starting lineup. However, Stavros Zarokostas and Romario Piggott were notably absent from the team.
Charleston have two away games (@ATL2, @MIA) and a home game vs the Baby Bulls (RBII) before they face Tampa Bay for two more games. After tempers flared during and after this game, the next two matchups between these clubs should be blockbusters. The October 7th Tampa Bay vs. Charleston match in Tampa will be broadcast on ESPN Deportes – as this week’s matchup proved, it will absolutely be a must watch.
