Late Goal From Mattheus Secures No Quarter Derby Draw

Recap:

A stoppage-time goal from Mattheus Oliveira steals a point for the Rowdies at the end, keeping the unbeaten streak alive, drawing with Charleston Battery 2-2. 

The first good chance of the game came from Charleston Battery’s Joey Akpunonu, his on-target shot required a diving collection from Rowdies goalkeeper Jahmali Waite. Akpunonu hit the ball very well, and the ball managed to sneak through a sea of players to go goal-bound. 

In the 29th minute, the Rowdies found the opening goal. An incredible solo run from Dion Acoff which resulted in a blocked shot set up Louis Perez, whose amazing right-footed shot went into the top left corner of the goal. Charleston goalkeeper Zamudio had no chance of saving that shot. While it was an extraordinary finish from Perez, Acoff made that goal. He ran from the Rowdies’ box to the Charleston box, dodging tackles and outpacing Battery defenders.

A couple minutes later, the Rowdies had a golden opportunity to double their advantage. Sebastian Cruz found himself in space, and played the ball to MD Myers, in a range where he scored against Sporting Jax on the weekend. Myers, however, missed the target, the result was a goal kick. Myers probably did not see him, but Marco Micaletto was running open at the back post. There was a Charleston defender in between them, so it would have been a difficult pass for Myers. If that pass had connected, it was an easy tap-in for Micaletto.   

In the 35th minute, Charleston had a free kick in a dangerous postion. Jeremy Kelly played the ball into the Rowdies’ box, with it landing at Douglas Martínez, who passed it to an open Miguel Barry at the six-yard box. Barry’s shot rifled off the crossbar and bounced out for a throw-in. 

The halftime whistle went, and the Rowdies went into the locker rooms up 1-0.

In the 54th minute, Maalique Foster got on the end of a Martínez cross after a deflection of Laurence Wyke, and tied the game up for the Battery. Foster collected the ball after the Wyke mistake, and shot it through the legs of Waite, who was rushing Foster. 

With 13 minutes to go, a Miguel Berry shot was deflected off Charleston striker Colton Swan. The ball appeared to have hit Swan in the arm, and redeflected to go in between Waite’s legs for the second time. 

In the 89th minute, the Rowdies were hunting for the equalizer to keep the streak alive. Russell Cicerone was back from his injury, and played the ball to Charlie Ostrem at the edge of the box. Ostrem’s right-footed inswinging cross found Evan Conway, whose header was collected by Zamudio. 

Now into stoppage time, Brian Schaefer played a long ball down the pitch to Ostrem. Ostrem had a fabulous first touch, collecting the ball with two Battery defenders right next to him. Ostrem then crossed the ball to Mattheus, whose left-footed shot flew past Zamudio, securing a point for the Green and Gold. With this goal, the Rowdies’ unbeaten streak continues. 

The Bigger Picture:

The Good: First, it was nice to see Cicerone back on the pitch. He has missed the past few games, so it was nice to see one of our core players on the field again. 

Cicerone played for 45 minutes, and completed 83% percent of his passes. 

For me, the moment of the game was the Dion Acoff run that led to the Louis Perez goal. Acoff sprinted through the entire Charleston defense, and unfortunately, had his shot blocked. If he scores there, it is easily a contender for goal of the year. 

Dion Acoff’s run was truly incredible, but it was just highlighted by the Perez shot. He hit the ball so well, the Charleston keeper had no chance of saving it. 

The Bad: This is by far the worst the Rowdies have played in a game this year. In the second half specifically, they were being completely outplayed by Charleston. 

They looked slow, were frequently out of position, and gave Charleston opportunities we have not seen this defense give up this year. 

The other thing I found frustrating was Jahmali Waite getting nutmegged twice. Overall, I thought Waite played fine, but giving up two goals through the legs is rough. 

The first goal was Wyke’s mistake, and the second goal took a strong deflection. 

You just hate to see two goals given up through the keeper’s league. However, Waite is a very good goalkeeper, and I am sure he can put this game behind him. 

Final Thoughts: It was not a pretty game for the Rowdies at all. They fought in a tough rendition of the No Quarter Derby, and salvaged a point at the end.

I think the team is very tired. They play a fast, aggressive style of football, which requires lots of pressing and running. I am not surprised the team seemed a step slower in a midweek match.  

The Green and Gold now must prepare for their third match in a week, as they host Hartford Athletic on Saturday.

Keeping Up with The (B)east:

After their midweek win in Arizona, Louisville City FC is now back in 2nd place behind Tampa Bay, with Tampa Bay still holding onto an eight-point lead. 

Phoenix nearly took the lead with Ihsan Sacko’s shot blocked by Louisville City FC keeper Danny Faundez in the first couple minutes. Sacko’s effort required a diving stop from Faundez, and was eventually cleared away, ending the Rising attack. 

In the 35th minute, Aiden McFadden got on the end of the cross, and headed it to Lou City striker Chris Donovan, who shot the effort right at Phoenix’s goalie Patrick Rakovsky. It was a good move from Louisville, but Donovan was unable to redirect the shot to avoid Rakovsky. 

After a nice team buildup from Louisville, they took the lead 52nd minute after Mukelle Akele’s left-footed shot beat Rakovsky at his near post. While Akele had a nice shot, Zach Duncan’s run through the midfield is what truly created the chance for Lou City. 

Nearly ten minutes later, Zach Duncan secured his second goal involvement of the game, this time a nice-worked goal. Chris Donovan passed the ball to Duncan in space, who scored past Ravovsky’s near post again. 

Despite late chances from Pheonix, they failed to not get shutout, and Louisville got their first league win in five games. 

With the draw, Tampa Bay is in first place with 28 points. Louisville City is in second with 20th, and Detroit City is in third with 18 points. Indy Eleven also has 18 points, and fifth-place Charleston is at 17 points. Sixth-place Miami FC is at 16 points, with seventh-place Pittsburgh also at 16 points. Eighth-place Hartford is at 14 points, with Hartford’s rival Rhode Island FC behind them in ninth place with 12 points. Birmingham has 11 points, and is in tenth place. Loudoun United has 9 points, Brooklyn FC is in second to last with eight points. Sporting JAX continues to be in last with three points. 

Coming Up/Match Prediction:

The Rowdies will host Hartford Athletic this Saturday at Al Lang Stadium. 

Hartford Athletic is coming off a USL Cup win against the New York Cosmos. They played very well, and won the match 4-1.

Hartford scored three first-half goals, and used that cushion to secure their victory. 

I believe that the player to watch out for striker Augi Williams. Williams has been in the league for a long time, and has shown his quality throughout the years. 

Augi has scored 3 goals in 15 games this season for Hartford. He is recently coming off a goal and assist in his most recent game against the Cosmos. 

Despite Augi, I feel confident in this Rowdies team, especially their defense. 

I am going with a 2-0 win on Saturday night.