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It was yet another night of Open Cup heartbreak for the Battery Wednesday, as they fell to NASL foe Jacksonville Armada in extra time.
The victory was the first ever in cup play for the Armada, handing Charleston it's first ever loss to a second division opponent.
Jacksonville dominated possession for the vast majority of the match, with good ball movement giving the Armada the lion's share of chances.
The Battery on the other hand seemed content with sitting in, relying heavily on the counter attack.
The early pressure from the Armada had the Battery back line on it's heels early, with the home team finding a slew of shots and corner after corner, finally breaking through the Battery defense in the 17th minuet.
Armada Midfielder Patrick Otte would put away the opening goal, with a chipped shot off the back heeled feed by Fondy.
Charleston looked much more lively in possession after conceding the early lead, opening up the passage of play and keeping the match even.
Battery would strike back in the 22nd minuet, with Romario Williams striking a beautiful long ball into the penalty area from the right flank, finding fellow forward Chris Tsonis who buried the equalizer.
The match remained even for the remainder of the 2nd half with both clubs heading into the lockerroom level with a goal a piece.
The second half got off to a nearly identical start as the first, with the Armada again controlling possession and the Battery once again bunkering down on defense.
Defensively Charleston looked strong for the majority of the match, dealing with the Armada attack with calm composure. Odisnel Cooper had a fantastic outing, raking up a pile of saves to keep the Battery in the match.
With the teams still level at the the end of regulation the Battery once again found itself in an extra time thriller and once again the Battery would come up short.
In the 107th minute Alhassane Keita would drive a stake into the heart of Charleston's cup run, killing it, this time for good. Picking up the pass from Alex Dixon, Keita found himself all alone behind the Battery backline who, thinking he was offsides, had stopped running throwing their hands in the air looking for the call. Without hesitation Keita put away what would eventually be the game winning goal.
MAN OF THE MATCH:
ODISNEL COOPER
Despite the loss "Super" Cooper lived up to his name.
KEY TAKE AWAYS
BUNKERED TO DEATH
The Battery looked way to content with sitting on their heels and playing defensively.
LOST THE MARATHON
Jacksonville had the advantage when it came to fitness, and that showed in the home stretch, with the Armada basically playing keep away for the entirety of the second half of extra time.
UP NEXT:
Back to league play
@ Pittsburgh, Saturday 6/4