In a match that still has Battery fans and soccer aficionado's asking the same questions days later, Bobby Weisenberger (Battery head athletic trainer for the past nine seasons) summed it up best: “This is the first time ever that I’m leaving the stadium and really don’t know how the game ended.”

Here is the quick read, before we get into the details:

The Battery scored three goals in the first half and led 3–0 at the break. But in the second half, a questionable red card, a well-timed substitution, and a missed call resulting in a penalty kick gave the Northern New Jersey Pink Cows a renewed vigor to bring it level at 3–3.

The Battery were able to counter late, scoring in the 75th to make it 4–3, but New Jersey scored in the 88th to bring it to 4–4. Then, in stoppage time, the Battery scored a game winning goal, only to have it ignored as the officials walked off the pitch without explanation. The NYRBII goalkeeper then started a fight, leaving the broadcasters, players, and fans alike asking, “What exactly just happened?”

Back to the beginning … There were several changes happened to the starting XI from last week’s loss in Northern Kentucky. With O’Brian Woodbine, Jarad van Schaik, and Victor Mansaray unavailable, Coach Mike Anhaeuser made five changes, starting Atlanta United loanee Patrick Okonkwo up front, slotting Nico Rittmeyer and Jay Bolt in the midfield, and placing Leland Archer on the back line.

And it worked. The first half saw the Battery play some of the best soccer they have played so far this season. The USL Heat Map shows the Battery playing in their traditional right to left at home keeping nearly all of the possession inside the Baby Pink Cows half.

USL First Half Heat Map #CHSvNY

The Baby Pink Cows attempted to strike early, but most of their shots were off frame, sailing over the crossbar. Their best attempt to score in the first half came in the the 21st minute when a José Aguinaga shot from outside the box was saved by GI Joe Kuzminsky.

On the counter, the Battery struck first. Jay Bolt turned on the burner and accelerated up the left side with a Baby Pink Cow defender in tow. Bolt sent a perfectly placed cross to the King of Charleston, Ataulla Guerra, right in front of the 18. Guerra beat the defender and drew goalkeeper Evan Louro out in a last ditch effort to stop the Sauce Boss. It did not work. Bolt, the rookie defender, earned his second professional assist and Guerra tallied goal number 13 on the season.

In the 24th and 25th minutes, the Baby Pink Cows put shots on goal but were denied by Kuzminsky both times. In the 28th minute, the Battery scored again: Pressured by his defender, Nico Rittmeyer sent a cross into the 6 yard box to connect with Patrick Okonkwo. Okonkwo, after being cleared by Air Traffic Control, went full on Flying Dutchman, burying his header past a flat-footed Louro. For Okonkwo, the Atlanta United loanee, it was his first USL goal.

Referee Matt Franz (he’ll come up again soon) awarded three minutes of stoppage time in the first half, and the Battery used it to seemingly put the Baby Pink Cows to pasture. Rittmeyer played the ball to Guerra, unmarked on the right side, and he drove 18 yards unopposed drawing Louro off his line again. As Guerra closed in to the right of the spot, Louro went to ground and the Sauce Boss sent his right-footed shot off Louro into the back of the net.

Tally goal number 14 for Guerra, putting him back into the hunt for the golden boot, in a tie for third place just two goals behind the leaders.

As the second half started, the Baby Pink Cows pressed hard into the Battery’s defensive half. The USL Heat Map shows the team from New Jersey keeping the pressure in the Battery defensive half for most of the remainder of the game. In the opening fifteen minutes of the second half, the Pink Cows managed to get four shots on goal, three saved by Kuzminsky, the fourth sailing high over the crossbar.

USL Second Half Heat Map #CHSvNY

But the score was still 3–0, when the 61st minute came around. From here, the remainder of the match is still full of controversy and confusion.

The first incident occurred in the 61st, when Battery midfielder Tah Brian Anunga, playing a header from Guerra, elevated with a high kick to push the ball to the left side of the field. After Anunga was in the air, Steven Echeverria ran in and contact was made. The referee blew the whistle for the foul, and signaled several times for the Red Bulls trainer to come onto the field.

Nearly 70 seconds later, after an ongoing conversation with the fourth official on the radio, Franz went over to Anunga and went to the back pocket, issuing a straight red card and sending Anunga off.

The controversy is not that it was a foul, but that it was not intentional, that Anunga was already in the air before Echeverria made a play for the ball and the contact was incidental. Anunga was already on the bubble with four yellow cards and will sit out at least one match (next Saturday away vs. Louisville City) and perhaps more, pending the appeal of the red card.

Now playing with a man advantage, the Baby Pink Cows were on the receiving end of yet another missed call. Late in the 63rd minute, as the Cows pushed forward, Bolt was called for a hand ball from a kick less than two yards from the opposing player.

From the telecast it is clear that Bolt’s arm was down in the natural position and the ball clearly hit his chest, but the referee, in clear line of sight, botched another call, awarding the Cows a penalty kick.

Broadcast still image showing the “handball” call. #CHSvNY

Tom Barlow, brought in on substitution one minute earlier, converted the PK, putting the Baby Pink Cows on the board and giving them life in what was otherwise lining up to be a rout by the Battery.

With ten men in the defensive third and reeling, Charleston struggled to contain a pushing New Jersey side, and the Cows found the back of the net in the 68th minute and again in the 73rd as Barlow recorded his second goal of the night. In just thirteen minutes, the entirety of the Battery’s first half was nullified as the visitors managed to level the score 3–3.

But in the 75th minute, the Battery earned a corner kick. Candela‘s high arching curve ball literally dropped out of the sky into the 6 yard box in traffic and Okonkwo buried it with a header to put Charleston back in the lead, 4–3.

Not to be outdone, Tom Barlow managed to complete his hat trick from a long left cross in the 88th minute, sending his header to the near side post, beating Kuzminsky, and equalizing the score 4–4.

Crazy game right? It gets worse.

The last 60 seconds was where the referee changed the outcome of the match.

At 90'+3, Angelo Kelly drove down the left side, only to be brought down by the back of his neck by Wahab Ackwei. The referee only issued a yellow card to Ackwei, who deliberately and brutally took down Kelly, and a free kick to the Battery eventually resulted in a corner kick.

In the subsequent series, Kelly scored the Battery’s fifth goal off a deflection from Louro. The Battery won 5–4, as no time remained on the clock, and fans and commentators celebrated the last gasp heroics.

But not according to referee Matt Franz.

In yet another botched call, Franz blew his whistle against Kelly for a foul in the box before he scored the goal, so when he appeared to signal for the goal, he was actually signaling a foul.

However, you can clearly see from the video that Ndam collided with his own teammate. They took each other out, and Kelly made no contact before putting his team in the lead.

In a heads up move, the Cows keeper immediately put the ball back into play. And, as the ball was airborne crossing the midfield line, Franz blew his whistle for full time, drowned out by fans, commentators, and players yelling in bewilderment.

Franz and his crew walked off the pitch without explanation to either bench. Louro, meanwhile, started an altercation and the field broke into pandemonium, leaving both teams, the broadcasters, viewers at home, and fans in attendance wondering what exactly happened.

Via Twitter, the USL’s Nicholas Murray eventually clarified what he thought happened, and then deleted all tweets about the game earlier this morning.

He said, we swear, sadly no screengrabs were taken: “Kelly goes through the back of Hassen Ndam as he tries to win the second header at the top of the six-yard area before the ball falls to him. Referee calls it immediately.”

However, the video shows that the Baby Pink Cows collided into each other, that Kelly made no contact, he scored the fifth goal, and the referee cost the Battery three points, crucial to a team looking to secure home field advantage in the playoffs.

Fantastic.

Game notes

Officiating must change. While the Battery were dealing with botched calls in Charleston, another referee changed the outcome of the game in the #TBRvCIN match by issuing a PK late on for what was a no contact tackle. Down but not out. The Baby Pink Cows showed that no matter how many goals you score against them, you can never count them out. Scoring three goals in the span of the thirteen minutes after being shut down in the first half nearly cost the Battery three points. Resilient. A bogus red card and a made up penalty in less than two minutes re-energized a down and out Cows team. Having to play a man down and against the officials as well, the Battery were able to focus and regain the moment lost. While the botched call cost the Battery three points, their resilience showed through as they scored after the game was tied 3–3, and on a set piece for only the third time this year, taking away a point in difficult circumstances with the draw.

With WKRP FC in Cincinnati “winning” in Tampa Bay, along with Louisville City, the Battery remain in fourth place with 44 points. They remain two points ahead of Bethlehem and nine points ahead of eighth place Ottawa.

The result of the #NCDerby sees North Fayetteville FC pulling within window shopping distance of eighth place, while Charlotte sees the playoff train starting to pull away from the station with them still on the platform.

Match summary

In Defense of Charleston

Patrick Okonkwo: The second year Atlanta United loanee scored his first two goals in dramatic fashion, the first a Flying Dutchman off the long cross from Rittmeyer, and the second, another header, off the set piece from Candela, killing the momentum the Baby Pink Cows had built after the red card. Expect to see Okonkwo on the USL Team of the Week.

Box score

Charleston Battery —4*

NYRBII— 4

Match Highlights

Up next

The Battery regroup and prepare to travel to Southern Ohio to take on second place Louisville City under new management.

As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to check back after the games for our Battery recaps, read all our Battery coverage here and follow Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea on Twitter for all the latest Carolina soccer news.

Up the Battery!