After the Atlanta Silverbacks were defeated 3-0 by the Charlotte Eagles last week, many wrote them off. It seemed that for the second straight year, Atlanta were going to experience a late season collapse and narrowly miss out on the playoffs. But with their first victory over the Charleston Battery in nearly two seasons, it finally looks as if regular season will likely make way for a postseason appearance.
Atlanta was forced to tweak their lineup for the second straight match. Coach John Dugan started Randy Merkel in place of the injured Eddie Rodriguez for the second straight match (although Rodriguez did crack the dress list), and also started midfielder Sean Finn in place of defender Jason Annicchero, who was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards. This move resulted in Atlanta playing in an extremely attacking minded 3-5-2 formation. Also, David Clemente got the start between the posts after an un-impressive performance by Kevin Rueda against Charlotte. Substitute Seth Marks was out with an injury as was Ihor Dotshenko.
The first 10 minutes of play went by with both teams holding an equal amount of possession. And not long after those first 10, Battery forward Gregg Simmonds turned on a 'Backs defender outside the box and sent his shot just over the bar. The half wore on with the 'Backs constantly gaining momentum as they continually outworked the talented Battery in the midfield.
Finn looked stellar in his first start in over a month, and he nearly came through with the first goal of the match in the 31st minute when he struck a bouncing ball inside the box that curved inches wide of the left post. Atlanta continued to push forward, and they finally found the net in the 40th minute of play. Once again, some nice work by Finn began the play and he played the ball through to striker Iggy Moleka. Moleka dribbled around Battery goalkeeper Dusty Hudock, and calmly touched the ball into the open net. The half ended with the score 1-0.
The second half opened with much of the same. Atlanta continued to win almost all of the 50-50 balls and Finn kept generating chance after chance. Despite this, Charleston nearly found the net early in the second half. Mac Cozier dribbled down the left side and found Simmonds in the box. Simmonds flicked the ball across the 18-yard box and it found the foot of the sensational Paul Conway. But Conway's shot flew over the bar.
The Battery hoped to generate more offense in minute 58, as they substituted former Silverback Brian Piesner for Rantala. But Piesner's match ended in disaster only five minutes later as he was red carded for a hard tackle on Sylvan Bednar. The red card surprised the small crowd, and Piesner left the pitch in disbelief.
Atlanta continued to press forward with Charleston showing little desire if any at all to equalize. Atlanta continued to attack and nearly netted an insurance goal in the 85th. An errant back pass saw Iggy Moleka with the ball on the left wing and Hudock off his line; the Battery keeper blocked Moleka's initial shot. Then Moleka crossed the ball into the middle where Finn's powerful shot was cleared off the line by a Battery defender. Not long after, Silverbacks winger Sean Michael-Callahan beat a defender down the left half of the field and charged into the box alone with Hudock. Callahan's chip beat Hudock, but it hooked just wide.
As the clock continued towards 45 and a win looked evident, Sylvan Bednar went down and was immediately helped off the pitch. Henriquez entered in his place. Mario Benjamin entered in place of the goal scorer Moleka in stoppage time, and the final whistle blew with a jubilant Silverbacks team victorious, 1-nil.
With the win, Atlanta can only miss out on the playoffs if they lose to Charlotte this weekend, and Seattle beats the A-league leading Vancouver Whitecaps twice. But Atlanta scored a mental victory Wednesday night; they have proven to themselves that they can beat a Charleston team that had beaten them in 6 straight matches.
But the win didn't come without some bad news, Bednar's injury turned out to be a torn ACL. He is out for the season. Atlanta finally appears playoff bound, and they will try to gain a favorable seed against the Charlotte Eagles this weekend.
Man of the Match: Sean Finn
After Finn's spectacular performance, fans were left wondering why he hadn't been starting all season. Finn nearly scored on numerous occasions and shocked Battery defenders with his speed and hustle. After this match is appears that Finn will be right back where he was when the season began, in the starting lineup.
ATLANTA - Clemente, Restrepo, McSkimming (Bednar 77th injured 87th - Henriquez), Care, Callahan, Merkel (Rodriguez 63rd), Parra, Finn, Walker, Moleka (Benjamin 89th)
CHARLESTON - Hudock, Wilson, Calichman (Phillips 76), Jean Baptiste, Anderson, Rantala (Piesner 65 - Ejected 71st), Farris (Alvero 79), Sahankak (Iotov 79), Cozier, Conway, Simmonds (Donnelly 68th)
Atlanta Charleston
Shots 14 3
Saves 3 7
Corner Kicks 3 1
Fouls 19 17
Offside 3 10
Scoring
40th- Moleka (Finn)
Cards
14th- Moleka
19th- Cozier
31st- Rantala
39th- Anderson
56th- Calichman
71st- Piesner (RED)
84th- Bednar
