SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums College, Pro & International Soccer Charleston Battery vs. DC United

I was one of the lucky 4300+ who got to attend the Charleston Battery vs. DC United game at Blackbaud Stadium last night. In the first half, I was disappointed b/c Freddy Adu did not start. However, he came in at the start of the second half and after seeing him play, I have come to two positions. First, seeing his physical stature, i believe he is the 14 or 15-years-old he says he is unless the area in Ghana he is from produces the smallest 20-year-olds in the world. Second, he is as good as advertised. He was all over the pitch. Up top, he scored DC's first goal and drew the foul (and subsequent red card on the Battery's Andreas Bechman) that allowed Bobby Convey to hit the game winning bending, dipping, left-footed direct kick . In midfield, Freddy out jumped and won head balls over taller and more experienced players. He played quality and sometimes exceptional balls with the inside and outside of both feet, made the right decisions and showed the ability to beat people off the dribble with speed or innovative moves. He also got stuck in on tackles when it was required.

Outside of Adu, the most impressive thing was watching Bobby Convey run and run and run and run and ru.... (well you get the picture) for 90 minutes. His speed off the ball and with the ball at his feet was a joy to watch and a testimate to the endurance of top players. Even as the game wound down, Convey took the ball on the left side, beat numerous Battery players and took the ball across the width of the field and ran the clock down. Oh, and the aforementioned free kick was incredible. We'll see what Bobby, Freddy and the rest of DC can do against a Brian McBride-less Columbus Crew (a 2-0 winner over Wilmington last night) next weekend.

Saturday, March 27 features a double header with Charleston playing Wilmington at 6 and DC playing Columbus at 8 so you out-of-towners (Kevin, Kyle, Carlos, Paul, etc) need to get a hotel room and come down and lets make next weekend a sellout. http://www.charlestonbattery.com

Columbus Crew 3-1 Charleston Battery

Charleston coach Chris Ramsey saw plenty of improvement from the Battery on the field during Wednesday night's game with Major League Soccer opponent Columbus.

Unfortunately, that didn't translate onto the scoreboard.

Chad Marshall scored a goal as the Crew tallied two second-half goals to beat the Battery, 3-1, Wednesday night before a crowd of 1,620 at Blackbaud Stadium in the second installment of the Carolina Challenge Cup.

The Battery will face PSL champion Wilmington Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium on the final night of the Carolina Challenge Cup. Columbus takes on D.C. United in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 8:15 p.m.