BY ANDREW MILLER
Of The Post and Courier staff
Two days. Two games. Same opponent. Same results.
For the second straight night on Saturday, the Battery faced the Wilmington Hammerheads and for the second straight night Charleston came away with a 2-0 victory in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match.
Velko Iotov scored a goal and added an assist and goalkeeper Dusty Hudock got the shutout as the Battery beat the Hammerheads, 2-0, before a crowd of 2,902 at Blackbaud Stadium.
The Battery defeated the Hammerheads, 2-0, Friday night in Wilmington. With the victory, the Battery improved to 5-2 overall, including 4-0 in Open Cup qualifying (17 points). Wilmington is 0-4 in qualifying (0 points).
It was a dominant effort for the Battery, which controlled the action from the opening kickoff, and outshot the Hammerheads 20-6 during the match.
"I was happy with the way we played tonight,'' said Charleston coach Alan Dicks. "We had some chances to get that third goal and get that bonus point, but it wasn't to be. We hit the crossbar once. We missed the net a couple of times. It was frustrating that we didn't get that third goal because we got so much pressure on them, but overall I was pleased with the way we played.''
Facing the same team twice in two days is no easy task, Charleston midfielder Jon Akin said.
"Playing any team on back-to-back nights is tough,'' Akin said. "It's tough on you physically. It's tough on you mentally. Once we got going I thought we played pretty well. We came out pretty strong in the first half and that's something we haven't done lately. We got those two quick goals early on and I think that took them out of the game.''
At times, the game look more like American football than soccer. The teams combined for 32 fouls, four yellow cards and two red cards.
"It was a pretty physical game,'' Akin said. "When you get tired things can get like that. When you get tired, when your legs go, you tend to kick more and play less. It got like that, especially in the second half. I was ready for the game to get over with there at the end.''
The Hammerheads' David Obua was ejected with a red card in the 42nd minute, forcing Wilmington to play a man short. The Hammerheads dropped another player in the 86th minute when midfielder Andy Maughn was ejected for a red card.
The Battery had several excellent scoring chances in the second half, but failed to convert.
A third goal, which would have resulted in an extra point in the group standings, was the only negative about the game, Dicks said.
"We pressured them a lot, but we missed the target. We had a man advantage for most of the second half, so we needed to capitalize on those chances.''
The Battery took a 1-0 lead on Akin's header 11:30 into the first half. Iotov moved the ball down the left side and crossed it to Akin, who headed it past Taylor Tucker.
"That was a terrific ball by Velko,'' Akin said. "He looked up and he made a great bending-ball pass to the near post and I went after it and headed it in."
The Battery extended its advantage to 2-0 on Iotov's goal in the 29th minute. After a corner kick and a scramble in front of the goal, Iotov chipped the ball into the net for the score.
"Iotov couldn't buy a goal in the first six games and he's had some chances,'' Dicks said. "It was nice to see him get a bounce go his way and finally get a goal.''
Wilmington 0 0-0
Charleston 2 0-2
Scoring Summary: Chs, Akin, 12th minute (Iotov); Chs, Iotov, 29th minute (Rantala).
Shots: Charleston 20, Wilmington 6. Fouls: Charleston 15, Wilmington 17. Corner Kicks: Charleston 8, Wilmington 4. Saves: Charleston 2, Wilmington 6. A: 2,902.
