Charleston Battery News Release -- www.charlestonbattery.com
Saturday, February 16, 2013
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- On an unusually cold evening in Charleston, the Chicago Fire defeated their MLS counterpart the Houston Dynamo 3-2 to open the 10th annual Carolina Challenge Cup at Blackbaud Stadium. The opening game of the tournament was action packed as the Fire came up with the win, with Dilly Duka scoring his first goal for the club since a recent trade from the Columbus Crew.
The Dynamo started strongly with a goal early on in the 14th minute by Adam Moffat, who struck from a set piece from just outside the penalty area. Moffat's fierce drive went through the Fire's defensive wall and snuck by Chicago goalkeeper, Sean Johnson.
The Fire responded in the 24th minute with a great breakaway move and an excellent finish by Sherjill MacDonald as he hold off his marker before finishing with a low effort. The Fire struck again two minutes later as Duka's shot deflected in off a Dynamo defender, and the Fire made it 3-1 three minutes into the second half as Jeff Larentowicz headed home powerfully from Joel Lindpere's corner.
Houston got back into the game in the 64th minute as a great finish by Cam Weaver off a corner by Brad Davis made it 3-2, but the Fire came closest to scoring following that, Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall saving Maicon Santos' penalty kick with six minutes to go. The miss didn't come back to haunt the Fire, however, as they took an opening victory ahead of their game on Wednesday night with the Charleston Battery.
VANCOUVER 3, CHARLESTON 2: The Charleston Battery made a valiant effort to overcome a three-goal deficit in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the Whitecaps got a pair of goals by rookie Kekuta Manneh to claim victory.
Vancouver moved the ball with speed in the first half as Manneh recorded two goals at in the fourth and 27th minutes to lead his side to a 2-0 halftime lead. Manneh, who starred last season for the PDL's Austin Aztex, used his quickness to beat the Battery defense twice down the left side of the pitch and added an excellent touch each time to find the back of the net.
The Battery missed a huge opportunity in the 43rd minute as a nice pass from Zach Prince through the middle found Jose Cuevas, only for the 2012 USL PRO Rookie of the Year's shot to miss wide to the right of the net. The Whitecaps pushed the issue further with a goal in the 50th minute of play as Daigo Kobayashi connected with a terrific volley to make it 3-0 in favor of Vancouver.
Down by three, the Battery had a tall task ahead of them, but with their backs against the wall, they came out and played a nice second half of soccer. Nicki Paterson got his side on the board with his first goal of the 2013 season in the 71st minute with a first-time shot that looped over Vancouver's goalkeeper to pull the Battery within two.
In the 77th minute the Battery had another great opportunity off a set piece, but Whitecaps goalie Brad Knighton made a huge save to hold onto the 3-1 lead. Three minutes later, however, Dane Kelly continued the Battery's charge with a fantastic goal as he connected with a beautiful shot from the left side of the box, finessing his finish over Knighton and into the net.
The combination of slow play early on from the Battery and authoritative ball movement by Vancouver would be the decider in the match, however, as the Whitecaps held onto their advntage to take victory ahead of their contest on Wednesday night against the Dynamo.