Sweet Revenge at Legion Stadium

The Battery avenged their 3-0 drubbing from a month ago with a convincing 2-0 victory over regional rival Wilmington Friday night in an exciting Southern Derby match.  Charleston took the field with something to prove.  The goal post skimmer in the fourth minute was evidence that Dane Kelly and our Low Country boys were after all three points.  The Hammerheads humbled us on our last visit to Legion Stadium and Charleston were determined not to relive the worst defeat of the season.  It was Kelly again in the 22nd minute who nearly squeezed one by the keeper, but the goals would come soon enough.  A sharp counter-attack moments later brought Battery keeper Dykstra into the fray.  He not only smothered Noviello's strike but would go on to earn his second clean sheet of the season.  The international duo of Seedy Bah and Dane Kelly were ferocious up front and the breakthrough came in the 30th minute.  A good run and textbook cross by Zach Prince found Bah in the area who promptly chipped the keeper and opened the scoring.  The second half was more of same and the Battery doubled their lead in the 67th minute.  The Battery's Favley delivered a nice ball into space for Dane Kelly.  The Jamaican dumbfounded a pair of defenders then finished with speed and style.  To their credit, the Hammerheads fought hard to stay in the match with two close calls in the 77th and 87th minutes.  However, Dykstra would prove too much for the onslaught and the Battery would finish the match with a resounding shutout; returning the favor from their previous visit to Wilmington.

Two important post-match thoughts:

1.  There seems to be a bit of natural chemistry between Seedy Bah and Dane Kelly.  The longer they play together, the offensive spectrum of our play has continued to improve.  We might just have an attacking duo that can fill the hole left by our own MLS stars Lamar Neagle and Tom Heinemann.

2.  Colin Favley has shown increasing attack-mined buildup play this season.  The Irishman has orchestrated several Battery goals this year while remaining consistent on the back-line as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing how his role in the squad might develop.