The Atlanta Silverbacks' long fight for the postseason will take a pivotal turn this Saturday Night. The Silverbacks could either snag a win and come one step closer to clinching one of the wildcard spots, or a loss could take them one step closer to falling out of the playoff race. But it wont be so easy getting that win this Saturday, the Silverbacks' arch-rival the Charleston Battery are coming to town, and the Battery are yet to lose to the Silverbacks this season.
The Silverbacks will still be without the services of leading goal scorer Patrick Beech, who is out with an injury. Look for Josh Henderson to play up front alongside Iggy Moleka. Moleka needs to have a breakout game as he hasn't scored in over a month. Henderson scored the winning goal against Richmond last Sunday, and has a knack for putting the ball in the net when the team needs it most. The Silverbacks have finally found a reliable replacement for Tony Roberts at keeper as David Winner has looked spectacular over the last few games. However, the Silverbacks depth is becoming an increasing problem. Atlanta has only made one sub in its last two matches (Iggy Moleka for Ze Rodrigues against Richmond.) Ramon Luna no longer dresses off the bench routinely, and Jerome Samuels, back from injury, has not seen much playing time since returning. The Silverbacks haven't been able to find an offensive spark off the bench, and Alex Bahr isn't getting enough playing time to prove offense off the bench.
The season series between the Battery and Silverbacks has been dominated by Charleston. The Battery have won all three games so far this year, and a win this Saturday would give them a season sweep of Atlanta. However, Atlanta is confident going into Saturday's game after their road win in Richmond, which broke Richmond's season long unbeaten streak at home. The Battery have been 5-6-1 on the road which is very solid for the A-league. They will come into Saturday's game led by keeper Dusty Huddock and Forward Paul Conway.
A win this weekend would have the Silverbacks very close to clinching a playoff spot. A loss would probably have them in a situation where they would have to win the rest of their matches to make the playoffs. So the stage is set for Saturday's big match, it will be a sensational game.
