By: Battery Media
The Charleston Battery fell 0-3 to Detroit City FC on Saturday in their only home match of the month. Despite a scoreless first half, Detroit found the back of the net three times in the second half to secure the road victory. The home crowd at Patriots Point put on a strong display during the night, setting a season-high for attendance in 2022. Charleston will be back home on Saturday, September 3, against New York Red Bulls II after a quick road match on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
Action began at Patriots Point with both sides sizing each other up to see who would flinch first. Detroit had the first real chance of the night in the 6th minute with some movement inside the box that was ultimately cleared by Patrick Hogan. Both Avionne Flanagan and DZ Harmon registered shots within the opening 10 minutes, but the attempts were blocked. Hugo Fauroux made his first save of the night in the 14th minute, a comfortable one, on a header by Connor Rutz. The tempo began to slow as the half wore on and the two sides matched evenly.
Robbie Crawford nearly broke open the game at the half-hour mark with a strong shot from the edge of the box that was blocked. The Scottish midfielder cut through Detroit's rigid defense to create the opportunity. On the opposite end, Matt Sheldon flashed his defensive prowess in the 34th minute with a slide tackle to deny Detroit's advance inside the box. Sheldon would again come up big in the waning moments of the half when Pato Faz caught the Battery on a counter-attack; the defender expertly tracked back and dispossessed Faz to remove the threat.
The half ended scoreless with Charleston holding a majority of possession (55%) and Detroit taking more shots (five to three).
Play resumed for the second half and the visitors managed to break the deadlock quickly. Faz scored the opening goal in the 48th minute after beating the Battery defense following a free-kick. Fauroux would register a pair of saves in the minutes that followed. Faz struck again in the 53rd minute to notch a brace and double the visitors' lead. Charleston looked to counter on the opposite side when Flanagan sent in a header on target that was saved by goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher.
Detroit stayed on the front foot and added to their lead in the 66th minute when Hogan committed an own goal. In an attempt to get back into the game, Charleston applied pressure with numbers inside the box. Flanagan's shot in the 77th minute was blocked and Andrew Booth collected the round with a shot that went dover the crossbar. Newly subbed-on Mauro Cichero tallied two shots in the final minutes of the match, however he was unable to get either on target.
Detroit saw out the match and secured the 0-3 victory, despite the Battery holding nearly 60% of the night's possession and more passes in the final third.
