USL PRO Feature
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
One thing coaches will tell young players is to always give your best, you never know who might be watching.
The Charleston Battery’s Dane Kelly knows it to be true.
“There was a game that was an under-21 game for my club back home [Tivoli Gardens],” Kelly said by phone this week. “I was playing in that game and I think I scored two [goals], but the biggest thing was that [Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser] didn’t come to watch me, he came to watch another player, but I was the one that interested him the most. He talked to my team and the manager of my team, and then he asked if I could come up, and I did.”
Three years later, Kelly has become a mainstay in the Battery’s lineup, this season having a breakthrough year that saw him lead the team with 11 goals and 24 points. Kelly attributes some of his success this season to a maturation process that has seen him become more comfortable away from his home in Jamaica.
“I took my mind away from home, so I’m more focused and relaxed now,” Kelly said. “My mind isn’t always at home anymore, because now I know I’ve got a job to do, so I’ve got to do it.”
Another reason for Kelly’s increased success has been the work he and Anhaeuser have put in on the forward’s movement off the ball, which in turn has given him more time and space in the penalty area, and a more composed attitude toward finishing. That was on display this past Saturday as Kelly scored the opening goal with a good turn and left-footed finish in the Battery’s 2-1 victory against the Los Angeles Blues in the quarterfinals of the USL PRO Playoffs.
Kelly will likely be a key figure if the Battery are to return to the USL PRO Championship Game as they face Orlando City on Friday night at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Lions have been as difficult an opponent as Kelly has faced in USL PRO, with the 22-year-old having scored only once in the nine games the teams have played in the past three seasons.
“They are always trying to bump into my back, jam me and get me out of my game, so that’s the toughest thing for me as a player,” Kelly said. “They always try to get into my head, which is something I’ve tried to deal with as the year has gone by. That’s been one of my biggest problems, and I’ve been trying to deal with it as best as I can.”
Kelly had opportunities to improve his scoring record against Orlando this season, but misfired in both meetings as Orlando earned a draw in Charleston before a 1-0 win in their last meeting at the Citrus Bowl.
“I was so frustrated,” Kelly said, “because in the first game at Blackbaud Stadium I got a lot of chances, but I wasn’t able to capitalize, so I was very frustrated.”
With a place in the championship game on the line, Kelly is hoping the greater consistency he has found in his finishing this season will be brought to bear. After missing out on the USL PRO Championship Game a season ago after returning to Jamaica before the end of the season, he is eager to help his side continue its aim of repeating as champion.
“Winning the championship is not that easy, so we’re looking at it as though it’s going to be very difficult and very hard,” he said. “We’ve just got to work hard as a team and try to get the win on Friday night.”