Battery battle in a 2-1 loss to Birmingham

BIGMINGHAM, Alabama — The Charleston Battery lost 2-1 Wednesday at Birmingham Legion FC. While the Battery saw significant improvements in possession and distribution, Legion FC overcame Aidan Apodaca’s first-half equalizer with the match winner in the 72nd minute. Charleston will look to continue improving, despite Wednesday’s result, as they prepare for a three-week home spell next month, starting with Memphis 901 FC on May 6 at Patriots Point.

The evening began with the hosts looking to get off to a quick start, testing goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux within the opening 10 minutes of the game. Fauroux, who started his first league game of the season, made a solid save in the 9th minute on Prosper Kasim. Kasim will however find the back of the net in the 11th minute. The Battery looked to respond in the 19th minute with Adian Apodaca and Mauro Cichero registering shots which were both blocked.

Charleston equalized in the 33rd minute when Augustine Williams found Apodaca in the box with a perfectly placed cross, which Aidan then turned into his second goal of the season. Williams’ cross went over goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel and to the right of Apodaca who redirected the ball into the net. The battery started to gather momentum as the half wore on and Apodaca almost added a second goal before the break with a shot that required a decisive save from Van Oekel.

In addition to the tied score, much of the possession and chances were even between the teams. Birmingham held narrow majorities in possession (54% to 46%) and shooting (eight to six), while Charleston had more assists in the final third (61 to 39).

Play resumed after a brief delay due to the protective stadium lighting system. The Battery were eager in the opening minutes of the second half to press for a second goal. Apodaca had a handful of occasions that nearly accomplished that ambition. First, in the 57th minute, the striker sent a shot following a counter-attack which required a diving save from Van Oekel to maintain the level of play. In the 64th minute, he played a long ball over the edge of the box with a powerful shot that narrowly went wide of the post.

Despite pressure from the Battery, Birmingham managed to add a second goal in the 72nd minute when Kasim fired a powerful shot from outside the box into the top corner of the net. Charleston looked to even the score again after Kasim’s goal. The visitors had a promising chance in the 78th minute when Matt Sheldon joined Williams, who was near the penalty area. Williams grabbed the ball from his chest but was unable to put in a proper touch to get a shot on the frame. Birmingham would retain victory from there.

Battery head coach Conor Casey gave his assessment of the night after the game.

“It was a disappointing night, not the result we wanted, I think the guys tried really hard,” coach Casey said. “We missed a few games and we weren’t clean enough with the ball. The guys fought hard, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough.

Goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux echoed coach Casey’s sentiment on the evening.

“Tonight was frustrating, but I think there are a lot of positives to take from the game,” Fauroux said. “We are improving, the result may not show it, but I know we are improving. We created more chances, we had more ball possession and they were a good team to play against on the road.

Fauroux said the team recognized areas for improvement ahead of the next game on May 6.

“From a defensive point of view, we were able to keep the ball a bit more now and we were advancing more efficiently,” Fauroux said. “Now we just have to finish those chances and be more organized because we keep getting scored in the counter-attacks.

“We will keep working, with patience and hard work we will get to where we need to be.”

The Battery will look to make the most of the week and a half of practice leading up to the home game against Memphis

“We have to keep digging, fighting and improving every day,” Coach Casey said. “We have time to practice well over the next nine days towards Memphis, but we definitely need to start turning things around in performance.”

The Battery returns to Charleston on Thursday and prepares for a three-week homestand, beginning with the May 6 game against Memphis 901 FC for Healthcare Heroes Night at Patriots Point.

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