Charleston Battery News Release -- www.charlestonbattery.com
Saturday, February 25, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Charleston Battery earned a 2-2 draw against Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew in their first game of the 2012 Carolina Challenge Cup in front of 5,767 at Blackbaud Stadium. The Battery came from behind twice with goals from Dane Kelly in the 40th minute and an 89th minute penalty kick from midfielder Jose Cuevas to earn the draw.
The Crew struck early to take the lead, just minutes into the first half the Crew’s Ethan Finlay played Eddie Gaven into the penalty area, and Gaven tucked the ball in the corner just past Battery goalkeeper Alec Kann to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.
The Battery tied the game in the 40th minute as Cuevas took the ball down the line and slipped a cross in behind the Crew’s defense. Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum miss-cleared the ball, creating havoc in the six-yard box, and Kelly was in the perfect position to tap the ball home. The score remained tied at 1-1 going into the second half.
The Crew regained the lead in the 57th minute as Emilio Renteria and Charleston's Charlie Romero fought for the ball inside the 18-yard box. Renteria went down with the contact and the referee awarded Columbus a penalty. Milo Mirosevic put away the penalty kick low into the right corner to put Columbus ahead once again.
The remainder of the game was evenly possessed in the midfield. The Battery pushed forward more as the game wore on and were rewarded for their efforts in the 89th minute when Salieu Bundu was brought down inside the penalty area by Carlos Mendes. Cuevas finished the penalty kick to leave the game tied 2-2.
The Charleston Battery's next game is against the Carolina Challenge Cup defending champions, D.C. United on Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m. in the second round of the tournament. United took a 1-0 victory in their opening game of the tournament as Hamdi Salihi scored a second-half goal against the Chicago Fire.
The Fire and Crew will meet earlier on Wednesday evening as they both look for their first win of the tournament at 5 p.m.