The Charleston Battery endured rain, a flooded baseball field, and having to play down a man for 34 minutes in the second half but still secured a 1–1 draw against Nashville SC at First Tennessee Park Saturday night.

Coach Mike Anhaeuser made several roster changes from the mid-week rescheduled match against Charlotte, six changes in the starting XI with Gordon Wild and Victor Mansaray starting up front. Vincenzo Candela and O’Brian Woodbine returned to the midfield and on the back line, Skylar Thomas and Odisnel “Super” Cooper made the start.

The field conditions were absolutely horrible due to the constant rain that fell for most of the match. The Battery started off playing right to left, having to deal with two-tone field, as First Tennessee Park’s baseball stadium infield was covered up for USL action. The pooling water on the Battery’s attacking third in the first half literally stopped every ball that tried to travel through it and made maneuvering nearly impossible.

Nashville would score their only goal off their only shot on target all night. Off a free kick in the 9th minute, Michael Reed served a long ball from the right side. Matt LaGrassa headed the ball towards Tucker Hume whose bicycle kick skipped off the chest of “Super” Cooper and through his paws to put Nashville on the board first. Cooper could be seen wringing out the water from his gloves after coming back to his feet.

The Battery answered late in the 24th minute. Gordon Wild served a split finger fast ball from left center field, the ball dropped out of the sky after crossing into the 18, and Matt Pickens came off his line and dove head first to punch the ball away. Unlucky for Pickens’, the punch bounced directly off Tah Brian Anunga and into the back of the goal to draw Charleston even at 1–1. Anunga now has four goals on the year.

In the 27th minute, Lebo Moloto went down after trying to connect with a long cross. Stiff legged inside the 18, Meloto had to be substituted off and was later seen leaving the field under crutches with what was reported as a suspected MCL injury, pending confirmation from testing later this week.

Both teams struggled in the remaining minutes of the first half to make plays in either end of the baseball field, hampered by the horrible field conditions.

#NSCvCHS USL First Half Heat Map

The USL Heat Map shows a huge gap in the lower left part of the pitch where the field conditions limited the Battery, playing right to left in the first half.

In the second half, Nashville had to deal with the deteriorated conditions in their attacking third, even after ground crews squeegeed the field during the break.

The Battery, while only maintainingd 37 percent of the possession during the match, were able to effectively move the ball around Nashville and force them to make long crosses that the Battery defense made quick work of.

#NSCvCHS USL Second Half Heat Map

With 42 clearances compared to the 22 of Nashville, the Battery reinforced what they have done all season: whittle down opponents and make them open up, then counter and score.

But in yet another Pro Referee call, Patrick Okonkwo was shown an immediate red card in the 60th minute and sent off by referee Farhad Dadkho. It was reported by the fourth official that Okonkwo threw an elbow in a play for the ball, but in the post game interview, Justin Davis said it was a headbutt.

Either way, Okonkwo’s sending off put the Battery a man down with 30 minutes left in the match.

Still, in spite of poor field conditions and having to play a man down, the Battery secured the 1–1 draw as “Super” Cooper dominated the final third of the game. In the end, the draw felt like a win for the Battery and probably felt like a loss to the Nashville SC faithful who desperately needed three at home in their push for the final playoff spot.

Game notes

Perseverance: The Black and Yellow dug in and, when forced to play with only ten men, managed to keep Nashville from getting a win three times.

The Black and Yellow dug in and, when forced to play with only ten men, managed to keep Nashville from getting a win three times. Defense: The Battery once again played well defensively. They had 20 more clearances than Nashville and nullified all seven of NSC’s corner kicks. Limiting a desperate Nashville team to just one shot on target all night is impressive.

With the draw, the Battery put a little more distance between fourth and fifth place, making a home playoff spot in the first round more and more likely. Charleston has four games remaining in the season, meaning a possible 12 points are still on the table.

With WKRP FC in Cincinnati securing the Eastern Conference title with their win Saturday night, the Battery are just four points out of second place and three points out of third, though Pittsburgh has a game in hand.

Match summary

In Defense of Charleston

Wall of Doom: Neveal Hackshaw, Skylar Thomas and the Captain Taylor Mueller. The back line just frustrated Nashville SC all night. Mueller had 11 clearances, Hackshaw had 10, and Thomas had eight, each totaling more than Nashville SC had all night as a team.

Box score

Charleston Battery — 1

Nashville SC — 1

Match Highlights

Up next

The Battery made it home safely and are now drying out the cleats for the last two regular season home games. Both occur this week with the Battery hosting NCFC Wednesday night in the second to last installment of the Southern Derby Cup, then hosting TFC II in the last regular season home game Saturday. They will then finish the season on the road in Atlanta and Ottawa.

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.

#FreeTheSauceBoss and #UpTheBattery!