PITTSBURGH — The Charleston Battery were dealt a 3-1 defeat against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in USL Championship action at F.N.B. Stadium on Aug. 15.
The hosts scored twice in the opening 16 minutes of the game, but Charleston looked to claw back on a goal by Douglas Martinez in the 18th minute. However, a third goal for the Hounds and an eventual red card to Martinez in the second half made it a bridge too far for the Battery (10-7-3, 33 points).
“No. 1, credit to Pittsburgh, they deserved to win. They were clearly the better team, better-coached team, and outworked us in a tough environment. So, got to give them credit,” Battery coach Ben Pirmann said. “But I think it was more about us and the silly mistakes that we've been making for the same seven months. We conceded an incredibly soft goal. We don't defend the direct ball, so we're down two minutes in four years in a row, and then we start playing a little bit higher in their half.
“This was about us doing our jobs. This was about us playing the game in their end, and we didn’t want to do that. We're just not good enough at it on the road, and we don't do it. So, we've got to start doing it better and fix it.”
Pittsburgh managed to open the scoring in the 2nd minute via Trevor Aman for a 1-0 lead.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a big save in the 8th minute to deny Eliot Goldthorp and prevent the hosts from doubling their lead inside less than 10 minutes of play.
The Hounds added to their lead in the 16th minute when Danny Griffin made the score 2-0.
Charleston, however, responded almost immediately when Douglas Martinez struck back in the 18th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jeremy Kelly led the advance down the pitch and played the ball forward to Nathan Messer, who sent in a cross into the box. Martinez charged to the unclaimed ball from the right side and smashed it first-time off the bounce, placed perfectly inside the opposite post.
Martinez’s goal was his second of the year and Messer’s assist was his sixth of the season.
In the 41st minute, Graham Smith made a critical sliding block to stop Aman’s shot and bid to restore the Hounds’ two-goal lead.
Pittsburgh took the 2-1 lead into the break, however, the Battery held nearly 74 percent possession in the first stanza.
“I didn’t think it was a bad first half from us, but the first two goals were just letting our emotions get the best of us. Tough place to play, tough environment, but we have to handle our emotions better and just deal with it,” Battery goalie Luis Zamudio said. “I put my hand up for the first two goals — I feel like I could do better on both of them. But what I will say is that it was a good reaction from the boys to get the goal back and keep us in the game.”
Play resumed in the second half with the game still within Charleston’s reach. Miguel Berry entered in place of Maalique Foster for the night’s first swap.
The Battery were on the front foot to start the second half, as Emilio Ycaza and Kelly each recorded two shots in the opening 10 minutes.
Pittsburgh managed to score a third in the 61st minute via Victor Souza to go up 3-1.
Charleston were reduced to 10 men in the 81st minute when Martinez was shown his second yellow card, and subsequent red card, of the evening.
Pittsburgh saw out the 3-1 victory from there, snapping the Battery’s two-game winning streak in August in the 49th all-time meeting between the clubs.
Coming up
The Battery’s next match will be at home against Miami FC on Aug. 22 as the club celebrates Back to School Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the match are on sale via seatgeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.