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Matchday Preview: Charleston Battery vs. Hartford Athletic

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 10/09/21, 9:07AM EDT

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Battery, Athletic on precipice of elimination ahead of showdown at Patriots Point


Charleston Battery forward Claudio Repetto will try to lead his side to victory on Sunday afternoon as it squares off against Hartford Athletic at Patriots Point. | Photo courtesy Charleston Battery

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Battery and Hartford Athletic will each try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive as they meet on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point with the potential that both sides could be mathematically eliminated by the end of the weekend’s action in the event of a draw. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

The @Chas_Battery (8-11-7, 31pts) fell for a second consecutive outing to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Thursday night in a 4-2 defeat that saw Joel Bunting score late for the visitors at Al Lang Stadium but push the side to the edge of elimination. The Battery would now need to win each of its remaining contests and see one of Miami FC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC or the Charlotte Independence lose the remainder of their games to retain their streak of reaching the USL Championship Playoffs in every season of the league’s history. Despite the side’s recent struggles, there have remained positives from the campaign with the play of new forward Claudio Repetto (nine goals) and playmaker Zeiko Lewis (nine assists) leading the way. Both players could be key to Charleston earning a needed win. The side is set to be without midfield stalwart Angelo Kelly on Sunday, however, after he received his eighth yellow card of the season to earn a one-match suspension.

@HFDAthletic (9-13-4, 31pts) is coming off a 2-2 draw with New Mexico United on Wednesday night at Isotopes Park that saw Danny Barrera record a goal and his league-leading 10th assist of the season, but the result left the side in the same predicament as Charleston as it completes its week-long road trip. Barrera is now second all-time in the Championship in assists with 42 and is now the first player to record multiple double-digit assist seasons in the league’s history, having previously done so for Sacramento Republic FC in the 2016 campaign. Hartford will be without forward Walmer Martinez on Sunday as he competes for El Salvador in 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, but Barrera’s co-leading scorer Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. will be looking to add to his eight goals this season after finding the net against New Mexico as well.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Charleston Battery 42%, Hartford Athletic 33%, Draw 25%

Most Recent Lineups

Charleston Battery (4-4-2): Joe Kuzminsky; Ben Di Rosa, Patrick Hogan, Jarad van Schaik, AJ Paterson; Josh Penn, Burke Fahling, Angelo Kelly, Stavros Zarokostas

Hartford Athletic (4-1-4-1): Matt Lampson; Younes Boudadi, Tulu, Thomas Janjigian, Ashkanov Appolon; Conor McGlynn; Preston Tabort Etaka, Danny Barrera, Justin Haak, Sebastian Elney; Juan Carlos Obregon Jr.

Discipline

Charleston Battery – Suspended: Angelo Kelly

Hartford Athletic – None

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