Battery, Detroit draw in scoreless stalemate

CHARLESTON, S.C. (June 8, 2023) – The Charleston Battery earned a point in a 0-0 draw with Detroit City FC on Wednesday at Patriots Point. The night was hampered by a three-hour weather delay due to lightning that persisted throughout the area. Battery goalkeeper Trey Muse registered four saves in the result, his sixth shutout of the USL Championship regular season.

After the collective three-hour-long weather delay, which came in two stints, Charleston and Detroit were underway at Patriots Point at 10:36 p.m. ET. Both sides adjusted to the rain-soaked pitch in the early stages. Goalkeeper Trey Muse made the night’s first save in the 11th minute, a calm denial of Connor Rutz from inside the box.

Muse was tested again in the 23rd minute by Ben Morris, making another strong save on a shot from inside the box. Morris broke through the Battery’s back line, but Muse stayed calm in the play.

The Battery nearly found the back of the net in the latter moments of the first half with Augi Williams, Derek Dodson and Beto Avila leading the charge up top, but the match was scoreless at halftime. Charleston held a majority of possession with roughly 54% retention.

Play resumed in the second half with much of the same attitude as the first 45 minutes. Muse was called into action again in the 52nd minute to make an easy save on Abdoulaye Diop.

Charleston almost scored the opening goal past the hour mark. Chris Allan sprung a counterattack from the defensive third and played the ball to Beto Avila in the final third. Avila’s strong forced Nate Steinwascher to make a crucial save from close range. On the ensuing corner kick, Allan curled in a shot that was narrowly wide of the far post.

Both teams limited each other in their chances on offense as the half wore on, uneager to allow a match-winning goal. The Battery almost found the decisive tally in the 86th minute when Arturo Rodriguez muscled his way into the box, only to have his short-range strike blocked by a defender.

The final whistle sounded after a late Battery push for a goal, securing a point for both Charleston and Detroit in the scoreless draw.

As of writing, Trey Muse’s performance puts him tied for the league lead in saves (42) and clean sheets (six). The Battery also remain atop the Eastern Conference standings with the draw, at 7W-3L-4D (25 pts).

Head Coach Ben Pirmann and goalkeeper Trey Muse discussed the match afterward, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Pirmann on the breakdown of the match…

With the delay, it was not a normal event, but I thought both teams went for it. Both teams were very assertive and aggressive. I thought Detroit had more chances in the first half, [but] we had the better chances and we did really well in the second half. What separates us from getting one point to three points is just a bit of quality, hold-up play, linking it, sideline-middle-reverse, getting it out the other way. We created half-a-dozen chances there in the second half, just some basic technical errors here and there. The fight, the passion, this team brings it pretty much every single time. I’m proud of the boys, their effort. In those moments, we’ve got to get better. There were multiple plays there for us to be had that I think we could have finished at least a chance or two.

Crazy delay. Not even kicking off until 10:30 pm, so all the supporters that came, we appreciate it. We’re gonna keep fighting and keep trying to give them everything to be passionate about. We want to keep playing hard, keep playing well and hopefully get all three points next time.

Coach Pirmann on the squad rotation for the game…

[AJ] Cochran stepped in, he was tough, battled his tail off as he always does. He is a phenomenal leader. Playing with two left-footed center-backs was tough in the build-up phase. He and Paterson did a really good job.

Beto [Avila] has been playing really well. He’s a spark, he holds it up. He’s a striker, so he can play centrally, he can play wide, but he stepped in and brought a boost to our attack. He’s done very well to create chances. He’s a good player in the final third and hopefully next time we can get the goal.

Coach Pirmann on looking ahead to Saturday’s away match against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC…

We’re going on the road Saturday to the team that’s probably in the best form in the whole league. They’ll be at home, packed crowd. They’re fired up to try to take first place. We’re not worried about first place, we’re worried about having a good performance. I thought our performance tonight was adequate, but to get all three points, you have to go above and beyond. It’s gonna be the same in Pittsburgh. They’re very good, they don’t give anything up. It’s going to be our toughest game of the year by far. So, we just got to make sure we put our best foot forward to have a good performance.

Muse on his perspective of the team’s performance tonight…

Detroit was a good opponent, they challenged us defensively that made it hard to play our style. As a team, we knew how to approach their tactics and how they play, so we got some good chances. We had a good chance there at the very end. Overall, it was a good collective performance. It’s not easy to come in and perform after a three-hour delay, so I was proud of everyone and their efforts.

Muse on staying prepared after during the three-hour delay…

It’s hard trying to stay engaged for the three hours and it kept getting delayed and delayed. But, for myself, it was fine. Just trying stay hydrated and continue to feed myself, because we didn’t know how long it was gonna be until we started.

Muse on building on this performance with the upcoming road schedule…

I thought AJ Cochran stepped in really well. He gave us a good dynamic in the back, filling in for Leland, with AJ [Paterson] on the right side. Defensively, we were pretty solid and we had a couple of good blocks here with Derek [Dodson] and AJ Paterson in the second half. It’s always good to keep the other team scoreless. We want to get better with training to push for Pittsburgh.

The Battery will now leave town for a series of away matches this month, starting against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sat., June 10. Charleston return to Patriots Point on Fri., June 30, to take on Loudoun United FC. This home game also includes a Fourth of July fireworks celebration and the summer nights $3 beer promotion. Tickets are available now via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.