The Black and Yellow rebound from last weeks road loss to give Nashville their worst USL Championship loss.

Photo Credit: Kim Morgan Gregory

The Black and Yellow following their first loss of the season on the road against Bethlehem last week, came back with a vengeance as they picked up three points at home defeating MLS bound Nashville SC.

The Battery scored three goals on Nashville who conceded only two goals in their first five matches this season. With the win the Battery along with NCFC, who shutout Charlotte in leg three of the Southern Derby Cup, remained tied on points with 11, one game in hand and three points behind conference leader St. Louis.

As predicted in the pre-match coverage, Coach Mike Anhaeuser made several changes to the starting XI from the 4–2–3–1 used in the first five matches this season, opting with the familiar 3–4–3 that was highly effective defensively but lacked an offensive punch last season.

Rookie Arthur Bosua made his first professional start, in place of an injured Ian Svantesson, while Jay Bolt, Vincenzo Candela, and Kotaro Higashi returned to the fold.

As predicted the match started physically from the opening whistle. Referee Kevin Broadley issued six fouls in the first thirteen minutes of play. That sixth foul from Tucker Hume resulted in Leland Archer suffering an ankle injury that saw another unplanned substitution in the first fifteen minutes of play, eerily similar to Svantesson being subbed off last week against Bethlehem.

However, the Battery regrouped and reminded Nashville that the Battery is difficult to beat at home. In the 14th minute, O’Brian Woodbine on the far wing picked Lebo Molato’s pocket and sent a beautiful cross into Bosua inside the goal area. Bosua was unable to handle the cross after getting tangled up with Bradley Bourgeois. However, Jarad van Schaik scooped up the ball and with no Nashville defender in front of him, blasted a left footed shot into the top of the near post putting the Black and Yellow up 1–0.

The remained of the first half was a see-saw battle of possession just inside each team's defensive half. Nashville struggled to move the ball into their attacking third as the Battery Wall of Doom effectively neutralized Daniel Rios and Tucker Hume.

USL Heat Map #CHSvNSC First Half

For the first twenty minutes of the second half, Nashville seemed to fix was not working in the first half. The USL heat map for the second half shows that Nashville maintained most of the possession and drove deep into their attacking third. Nashville recorded 62.3 percent of the possession compared to the Battery who only maintained 37.7 percent.

USL Heat Map #CHSvNSC Second Half

Nashville outshot the Battery 13 to 12, however, their accuracy was subpar, only managing to get three shots on frame. While Nashville dominated possession in the second half, the Battery made quick work to score in the 64th minute.

And by quick work, 6 seconds.

Bosua brought a high clearance under control and passed to Higashi, who managed to pull three defenders clearing the way for Bosua to sneak in the back door. Matt Pickens seeing the one on one with Bosua closed the distance near the penalty mark but Bosua’s right footed shot to the back of the far post could not be stopped, and would be the eventual game-winning goal.

Nashville never recovered from blown coverage that allowed Bosua to score. Nashville subbed in Ropapa Mensah, Alan Winn, and an injured Cameron Lancaster in hopes of sparking an offensive counter. That never materialized.

In the 73rd minute, a careless foul by Liam Doyle gave the Battery a free kick just outside the goal area. van Schaik lined up the shot and sent a rocket over the wall. The ball took the good deflection off the crossbar and with #EasyPickens falling to the left to clear the ball, Bosua beat the flat-footed Nashville backline for the second time and headed the ball into the open net.

In the 88th minute as the Battery tried to counter a failed Nashville attack, however, van Schaik was leveled by Mensah and with no call by the referee, Nashville went back on the counter with their best attempt to score all night. Lancaster at the top of the penalty arc played Winn on the far side.

Woodbine maintaining his line made incidental contact as Winn backed into him inside the goal area. Broadley awarded Nashville a penalty kick. Rios converted the penalty and dashed the Battery’s attempt at a clean sheet.

The Battery held out with the additional three minutes of stoppage time and prevailed over Nashville, 3–1.

Game notes

The Rookie Shines: In his first professional start Arthur Bosua managed to be in the right place at the right time. While Bosua struggled in both duels and aerial duels (winning 11 duels, losing 12 and winning 9 aerial duels, losing 10) he was able to maneuver around the normally defensive juggernaut which is the Nashville defense and not only score one but his first two goals.

Arthur Bosua — Battery Man of Match #CHSvNSC

Wall of Doom: After a less than desirable outing last week on the road the backline held strong, even after an unplanned injury sub that saw Kyle Nelson come on for Archer. Stellar performances from Jay Bolt who recorded four critical clearances (two of those Robbie van Persie, Flying Dutchman, style) and team Captain Taylor Mueller, whose six clearances help keep Nashville from scoring all night from the field of play.

Match summary

In Defense of Charleston

The Black and Yellow: After suffering their first loss of the season in Bethlehem, the Battery regrouped and played an intensely physical match. A total of six yellow cards (four to Nashville) and a total 26 fouls (13 to each team) reflect the physicality of the match. However, the Black and Yellow remained focused, scoring three points on what is one of the best defenses in the USL.

Box score

Charleston Battery — 3

Nashville — 1

Match Highlights

Up next

The Battery travel to Memphis to take on former Battery President Andrew Bell and USL expansion team, Memphis 901 FC, Saturday, April 27th at 8:00 PM Eastern Time, 7:00 PM Central Time.

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