Williams’ winner lifts Battery past Detroit in road victory

DETROIT (August 12th, 2023) – The Charleston Battery wrapped up their road trip by beating Detroit City FC 0-1 at Keyworth Stadium on Saturday. Augi Williams scored the match-winning goal in the 71st minute, silencing the electric crowd at Keyworth, to lift the Battery to their first-ever win over Detroit. The Battery have now won a league-high 25 points on the road.

Charleston and Detroit kicked off under a sublime southern Michigan sunset, setting the scene for two teams fighting for their spot in the playoffs. Physicality and defense defined the first half as neither side gave meaningful ground to their opposition.

Augi Williams recorded the only shot on target of the first half in the 14th minute, a strike that forced a diving save from Nate Steinwascher. Charleston made more touches in the opposition’s box than Detroit in the first 45 minutes, but the sides went into halftime tied at 0-0.

The Battery came out of halftime with their foot on the gas, holding nearly 60% of possession through the hour mark.

Williams rose to the occasion in the 71st minute to give the Battery a 0-1 lead with a goal from inside the box. Pierre Reedy whipped in a cross that was slightly deflected by Detroit before landing to Williams. The striker played the ball off his chest to gather it and then uncorked a bullet past Steinwascher. The goal was Williams’ 11th of the season across all competitions.

Following the goal, Charleston continued to tighten their grip on the match to secure the three points. Detroit were held without a shot on target the entire match as the Battery’s back line limited their ability to create meaningful chances.

The Battery held on to clinch the victory, 0-1, their first-ever over Detroit. The result concludes the road trip where Charleston won four of the six possible points. Their record now improves to 12W-6L-7D (43 pts).

Charleston have now won a league-leading 25 points away from home.

Goalkeeper Trey Muse notched his eighth shutout of the season, tying his career-best mark for clean sheets in a season.

Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Augi Williams discussed the victory after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Pirmann on his takeaways from the match tonight…

That was all about the selflessness, the togetherness of the group. [Detroit] are a team who are well-coached and playing for their lives, and I felt we dominated from start to finish. Outside of the header at the end of the game, we didn’t give up a chance.

Every single guy was bought in. We wanted to not just get a result but get all three points. That was all about the boys tonight. Robbie [Crawford] and Fidel [Barajas] came in and did a great job. The five subs did a wonderful job. That’s what we want this club to be. That’s what we want to represent. We wanted the 8,000 people [at Keyworth] to watch this game tonight and say there’s one team that outworked the other one. Fantastic goal by Augi, great ball in by Pierre. Front to back, incredible job.

Coach Pirmann on the team overcoming the packed schedule for the victory…

Coach Devin [Rensing], Coach Leigh [Veidman], Coach Eric [Salley], Coach Brian [Jones], Bobby [Weisenberger], Logan [Angert], and our staff is tremendous. They prepared this team. Everybody involved in this team, everybody involved in this club, pushed to get this done. We will enjoy it. Then, we will get prepared for a really tough Orange County game on the road.

Coach Pirmann on the significance of this victory in his hometown of Detroit…

I had a long history here for six years. I love the people. Love the supporters. It’s a great club. For two hours, we hate each other and then you just go back to being friends. This is definitely my hometown, I was born just a couple blocks away from here, so it’s fun to come back. But, this is about the boys. This is about this club. It’s about this team fighting to get a result because we know how tight it is with all the teams around us.

Williams on his breakdown of tonight’s performance…

It was the game that we knew it was going to be, physical. [Detroit] is a very tough place to play. We knew we were going to match the intensity with fire because they also did fire. It was just one of those moments when you get that opportunity and you capitalize on it. That’s what we did tonight.

I was trying to get in the box and they gave me a tough time early on in the first half. I had bumps and shoulders and grabs and stuff like that. When [Pierre] Reedy played that ball over, I had time to test it. I was there. Luckily, I was able to get that shot.

Williams on taking home four points during this away trip…

Every game matters, it’s like a playoff for every game. Coming here, getting three points and especially being on the road getting four points, gives us that momentum going into the next game. I think it puts us in the position where we need to be and then we just keep on being on the right path and keep going forward.

Williams on how the team handled the tough environment at Keyworth…

[Detroit] is a tough place to play. Their fans don’t make it easier for us, but it’s all part of the game. It’s part of football. We knew we were going to match that and we brought that. We put all that aside and just played our game and I think it worked out for us tonight.

The Charleston Battery head to California to take on Orange County SC on Sat., Aug. 19. The Battery return home on Sat., Aug. 26, to play Memphis 901 FC on Back to School Night at Patriots Point. Tickets are available now via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.