PITTSBURGH – The Charleston Battery were dealt a 3-1 defeat against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in Week 24 of the USL Championship regular season at F.N.B. Stadium on Saturday. 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.
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. It also marked the Battery’s 18th goal scored during the first half, the most in the league, as of writing.
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% possession in the first stanza.
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.
The result moves Charleston's record to 10W-7L-3D (33pts), placing them in second place in the Eastern Conference, as of writing.
The Battery’s next match will be at home against Miami FC on Sat., Aug. 22, as the club celebrates Back to School Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups:
PIT: Campuzano, Kelp, Mikoy, Souza, Viera (Barnes, 62’), Bassett, Wälti, Griffin (Mertz, 74’), Goldthorp (Ahl, 74’), Dikwa (Etou, 66’), Amann (Tsukanome, 62’)
CHS: Zamudio, Messer (Houssou, 64’), Akpunonu (Cabrera, 74’), Smith, Martínez, Suber, Ycaza, Kelly, Kissiedou (Pakhomov, 64’), Foster (Berry, 46’), Swan (Hughes, 64’)
Scoring Summary:
- PIT – Trevor Amann, 2’ (Jackson Wälti)
- PIT – Danny Griffon, 16’ (Trevor Amann)
- CHS – Douglas Martinez, 18’ (Nathan Messer)
- PIT – Victor Souza, 61’ (Sam Bassett)