USL Charleston Battery

Match Preview: Battery vs. Hammerheads, Saturday, April 9

Published on April 6, 2016 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON - The Battery renews its Southern Derby Cup rivalry with Wilmington Hammerheads in an early showdown between USL Eastern Conference leaders at 7:30 Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium.

The Battery (1-0-1, +1 GD) enters the match with just one goal to its credit, but with back-to-back clean sheets. It's roughly the same story with Wilmington (1-0-1, +1 GD), but the numbers in this match-up may do more to obscure the truth than reveal it.

Charleston reached the Eastern Conference semi-final last fall and entered 2016 as an experienced USL side with a proven defense and a question mark on offense. Wilmington, on the other hand, slumped to a USL-worst record in 2015 and changed coaches and the majority of its roster in the off-season. It returned to league play in March with a new mixture of young prospects and veteran foreigners under the leadership of first-year head coach Mark Briggs.

Yet their results so far appear relatively similar. Charleston needed stoppage-time heroics from a loaned forward to win its season-opener 1-0 against a stocked FC Cincinnati squad and could not score last weekend at Orlando City B despite dominating every aspect of the match. Wilmington got off to a positive start on March 26, beating OCB 2-1 on the road, but slogged through an uninspiring scoreless home draw with Richmond last Saturday.

That's not a lot to go on for either side, and other recent trends don't help clarify the picture, either. Yes, the Battery went 3-0-1 in its 2015 series with Wilmington, yet upon closer examination the difference between that record and a 1-1-2 mark boils down to a missed sitter, a freak own-goal, and a lone wonder-strike.

Yes, the Battery beat the Hammers 3-0 in a preseason friendly here on March 9. But the Battery had been playing friendlies since Valentine's Day and was already rounding into form. Briggs was still getting to know his roster, and clearly managed his unit for evaluation rather than top performance.

Yes, Wilmington has been a far better on the road than at home in the past year. But then again, Charleston hasn't lost a USL game at MUSC Health Stadium in 26 consecutive matches dating back to May 10, 2014.

The Battery's opponent in that one? The Hammerheads, who beat Charleston 1-0.

So what should fans of both clubs expect when the two Carolinas "frienemy" teams square off on Saturday?

SCOUTING WILMINGTON

The one thing the Battery and the Hammerheads have in common this year is playing Orlando City B in Melbourne, Fla. Wilmington appeared to be headed toward a scoreless road draw after a dull first half, but broke through on a set piece early in the second. The Hammers gave up a goal to an OCB player with little involvement in the attack, then won it on an alert long-range attempt that caught loaned MLS goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. napping.

Charleston had more success against OCB, played up a man from the 50th minute, and out-shot their hosts 21-3. But with OCB goalkeeper Mark Ridgers replacing Edwards for the team's second start, the hosts managed to keep the clean sheet. Ridgers earned USL Goalkeeper of the Week for his heroics.

Briggs' Hammerheads play a 4-3-3 with one true holding midfielder (typically newcomer Logan Miller), and focus their attack on returning Nigerian center forward Qudus Lawal, who has spent Wilmington's first two matches knocking down passes and posting up center backs. He's backed-up by Matthew Barnes-Homer, a 30-year-old English journeyman with a similar playing style and a resume that includes more than 400 appearances with more than 20 professional clubs. He could be a candidate for a longer look on MUSC Health Stadium's grass pitch.

Barnes-Homer isn't the only thirtysomething newcomer with an interesting work history. Midfielder Liam Miller is a 35-year-old Irishman with stops at Manchester United, Celtic, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers. He's the team's leader on the field, taking up the center of the central trio.

But the most important unit in the Hammers' XI will likely be its defense. After giving his players a slightly longer leash at Melbourne, Briggs typically kept 10 men behind the ball against a veteran Richmond Kickers squad last week. Center back Ashani Fairclough is a big-body defender who has attracted MLS attention at times. Scottish right back/midfielder Tom Parratt is a capable USL veteran.

The most important player on the field could wind up being Canadian goalkeeper John Smits, who spent the last three seasons in NASL with FC Edmunton. He's gone the distance so far this year, allowing one goal in two matches while picking up five saves.

Briggs spent 2015 as an assistant to departed coach Carson Porter, but he learned his trade in the UK and under the tutelage of former Wilmington Coach Dave Irwing. Based on results so far, it's a fairly safe bet that Briggs will lay back, plug the gaps, and attempt to sting Charleston on an opportunistic counter.

SCOUTING THE BATTERY

Maybe the easiest way to understand where the Battery begins the 2016 campaign is this quick summary: Of the seven positions with primarily defensive roles in Coach Mike Anhaeuser's stock 4-2-3-1, the Battery returned six starters from the 2015 unit that compiled the second-best record in USL for goals allowed.

One of those returning 2015 starters is team MVP Odisnel Cooper, who opens the season behind loaned Atlanta United FC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis. The next goal Tambakis allows will be his first. His statline so far: 180 minutes, 9 saves, 0 goals.

The unit is relatively deep, too, earning a shutout in the opener while right back Quinton Griffith and defensive midfielder Neveal Hackshaw served on international duty and left back Emmanuel Adjetey recovered from a foot injury. Center back Forrest Lasso was solid in the opener while covering for Taylor Mueller, who earned USL Team of the Week honors while playing out of position on the right. Fullback O'Brian "Obi" Woodbine has started both matches at left back, displaying his best form since rejoining the club in 2015.

Even in the DM spot, where the team had no obvious backup to Hackshaw, Charleston barely missed a beat with newcomer Ataullah Guerra -- an attacking veteran who has been starting in deep central midfield ever since the 3-0 exhibition win over the New York Cosmos on March 19.

The question for the Battery has been about offensive production, and the answer so far has been complicated. While observers have focused on the challenge of replacing departed forward Dane Kelly, Kelly was never the one-man show for the Battery. representing only about a quarter of Charleston's 2015 goal production.

Plus, with Anhaeuser challenging his elite defense to become more involved in a wider, overlapping attack this season, there's been less pressure on the center forward to carry the load.

The results so far have been mixed. After carving up the NASL Champion New York Cosmos 3-0 on March 19, the team has generated a good volume of chances in both its USL games, yet has suffered for accuracy. Center forward Heviel Cordoves had an excellent first match, but wasn't particularly productive in the second. Second forward Ricky Garbanzo had little influence in the first game, but was the offensive leader in the second, leading all players with five shots. If not for two top-drawer saves by OCB and USL Team of the Week goalkeeper Mark Ridgers, Garbanzo would have led the Battery to victory.

Then there's Montreal Impact forward Romario Williams. The No. 3 2015 Superdraft pick had only three Battery training sessions to his account heading into the season opener, but came off the bench to score the match winner. He has flashed big-league talent, and will likely join the competition for starting spots once Coach Anhaeuser is confident with his match fitness and integration.

Garbanzo's status for the weekend came into question this week after a training collision on Monday. He is considered questionable for selection on Saturday night as the team heads into the back end of the week.

KEY MATCHUP: Justin Portillo vs. Liam and Logan Miller. If Briggs chooses to play the defensive-style the Hammerheads displayed at home against Richmond, the primary responsibility for chipping holes in his formation and making the most of each set piece will fall to third-year Battery central midfielder Portillo.

The expected return of Neveal Hackshaw to the defensive midfield spot should give Portillo greater freedom to operate, and the Battery's best passer excels at exploiting narrow windows of opportunity. But he'll have to win his battles with the Millers, who form the core of the new Hammerheads central midfield.

Hackshaw's return could also pay dividends if it allows his attacker Ataullah Guerra to return to his natural habitat. If Garbanzo isn't ready to make the start, Guerra could be a natural choice to take the second-forward spot, playing off either Cordoves or Williams at center forward.

SOUTHERN DERBY CUP: This will be the first match of the 2016 Southern Derby Cup series. The Cup is believed to be the oldest fan-sponsored cup tournament in the United States, predating more famous competitions such as the Cascadia Cup and the Atlantic Cup.

For the second consecutive year, the 2016 Cup will be contested between the Battery, the Hammerheads and the Charlotte Independence. The three teams will each play each other twice, but the fans of each team chose to include only one home and one away match between each of the clubs.

Because of that arrangement last season, Charleston didn't clinch last year's Cup until the final night of the regular season, when it overtook the Independence with a 3-1 win at MUSC Health Stadium.

Tickets to the match start at $10 and can be purchased at charlestonbattery.com or over the phone at 843.971.GOAL (4625).

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 6, 2016


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