Charleston Battery1 Vancouver Whitecaps 1
Published on July 24, 2008 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Vancouver Whitecaps News Release
BURNABY, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps came from a goal down to earn a 1-1 home draw with USL First Division leaders Charleston Battery on Wednesday evening.
In a game where the Whitecaps struggled to be at their best for large parts of the midweek match, substitute Charles Gbeke scored his first competitive goal as a member of the Whitecaps. His late second-half header cancelled out Randi Patterson's league-tying eighth goal of the season for the South Carolina visitors.
After struggling though the first half, the home side made the necessary changes after the break that brought about a third-straight 1-1 result at home in the league, as Vancouver took sole possession of third place, but remained six points behind top-of-the-table Charleston.
Whitecaps head coach Teitur Thordarson made three changes to the side that started the 1-1 home draw with Carolina RailHawks ten days ago. Jay Nolly replaced Srdjan Djekanovic in goal, while defenders Wesley Charles and Luca Bellisomo made their first-ever starts for Vancouver, as they replaced centre back Omar Jarun and injured right fullback Lyle Martin in the Whitecaps back four.
Battery head coach Mike Anhaeuser was also forced into three changes from the starting XI that played in last Saturday's 2-0 home win over Portland Timbers. Kevin Nylen replaced Tim Velten in the Charleston backline, while Osvaldo Alonso and Lazo Alavanja were replaced by Chris Corcoran and Mike Richardson in the Charleston midfield. There were also two Canadians in the Battery line-up, as former Toronto FC defender Marco Reda and former Montreal Impact midfielder Chris Williams took to the pitch for the visitors on Wednesday.
On a sunny and cool summer's evening at Swangard, a crowd of 5,038 had little to cheer about during the first half of play, as they struggled to make inroads into a well-organized Charleston side, with Battery succeeding in closing down their hosts with frequent success.
The early exchanges were competitive and scrappy from both sides, with the Whitecaps conceding several free kicks in the process. On five minutes, Nicholas Addlery caused a bit of excitement when he got on the end of Justin Moose's through ball, but his shot deflected away for a Vancouver corner.
USL First Division Stories from July 24, 2008
- Timbers battle to hard-fought draw - Portland Timbers
- RailHawks Draw Portland Timbers, 0-0 - North Carolina FC
- Thunder Downs Defending Champs 2-1 to Get First Win at New NSC Stadium - Minnesota Thunder
- W-League Championship Final - Vancouver Whitecaps
- The Impact Visits the Rhinos in Rochester Friday - Montreal Impact
- RailHawks Midfielder Amanda Mueller Named to W-League Team of the Week - North Carolina FC
- Miami will battle Atlanta at Tropical Park on Sunday - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Charleston Battery1 Vancouver Whitecaps 1 - Vancouver Whitecaps
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