The Charleston Battery earned their second win in a row as Cal Jennings scored his fifth goal of the season to lead a 2-1 win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Patriots Point on Saturday night, moving up to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Aaron Molloy also added his first goal of the season for the Battery, answering Bradley Sample’s first-half finish for the Hounds, as Charleston regained the upper hand in the Old Guard Shield rivalry after Pittsburgh took four points from their two meetings a season ago.

Here are three things we took away from the action.

1. The Battery’s midfield kept them on the front foot

When the Charleston Battery took victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Week 5, their pressure produced turnovers high up the field that helped deliver scoring chances. The side won possession a club season-best eight times in the final third, powering the 2-1 result.

On Saturday against Pittsburgh Riverhounds, that pressure remained, but instead of turning possession over in the attacking third it resulted in the Battery’s midfield trio of Chris Allan, Aaron Molloy and Emilio Ycaza hoovering up errant passes by the Hounds that they were quickly able progress up the field against a Pittsburgh side that was a step slow to react often enough to allow the Battery to create multiple major scoring opportunities.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Molloy led the way. His 12 recoveries more than doubled any other player on the field, with the three-time All-League selection using that possession effectively to feed Juan David Torres, who ended with a game-high four chances created and the assist on Cal Jennings’ game-winner, and the Battery’s other attacking pieces, it made for an impressive outing and a second consecutive victory for the prospective title contender.

“We had to tweak one or two things, just being a little bit calmer,” said Battery Head Coach Ben Pirmann of his halftime message to the side. “We were a little rushed when we broke their press, but I'll say this, we moved the ball selflessly. We were on top of them. The counter-press was incredible, and if you do that a lot of times, you're going to win.” 

2. Charleston’s patience helped power their turnaround

Typically, there are few places you want to be than trailing Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, especially with the defensive start to the season the side has made this campaign. Despite having the better of the first half, however, that was the situation the Battery found themselves in after Bradley Sample’s bouncing second-chance effort off a set piece put the visitors head five minutes before the break before Cal Jennings skied a penalty kick in stoppage time – the second spot-kick the striker has missed in four attempts in the Championship for his career.

But the Battery remained calm and simply kept their heads down. Given how effective the side had been in the opening half, it was the right idea, but also illustrated the level of confidence the side has in its abilities and in each other, one of the traits that has helped carry Charleston to the top of the Eastern Conference in the past two seasons.

“We had a lot of momentum, obviously coming from the first half with all the chances that we had,” said Molloy. “We just wanted to continue what we were doing, maybe put it up a gear, and that's what we did. The guys were pushing. [It] all started with [goalkeeper] Luis [Zamudio] and the back-line pushing us forward and giving the confidence for the lads up top to take chances.”

Molloy’s standout finish to pull the side level midway through the second half provided the payoff before Jennings made no mistake with a slick run onto Torres’ through-ball and finish to make up for his earlier miss, giving the Battery all three points.

“Cal’s a striker,” said Pirmann. “He had half-a-dozen chances tonight, and he buried the one the most important. So, Cal's a striker, he scores goals. MD [Myers] is the striker, maybe he missed a pass or two and then he creates the first goal. Like in football, and probably in life in general, you need to have a short memory, right, and just go on to the next one.”

3. Hounds lacked defensive intensity, sharpness in possession

The reality of Saturday’s game was Pittsburgh had goalkeeper Eric Dick to thank for the fact they weren’t well behind before Sample’s goal against the run of play in the first half. The 2024 Championship Goalkeeper of the Year ended the night with five saves, including an outstanding stop on a one-on-one chance for Jennings just past the half-hour mark that Myers was unable to convert on the rebound.

The Hounds were unable to retain possession cleanly enough as they tried to move upfield – the side only completed 50.4 percent of passes in the attacking half, a number that dropped to 44.8 percent in the final third – but as importantly for Head Coach Bob Lilley the side wasn’t aggressive enough in its defensive posture, allowing the Battery time to pick out 12 chances created compared to Pittsburgh’s two.

“There was not enough initiative in the first half to create chances and play on the front foot,” said Lilley. “We gave them too much time on the ball and were very cautious in our defending instead of getting on them. We gave them space, and they picked out passes and got in behind us. I thought Charleston was good on the night. They were threatening and able to pressure us and get behind our lines.”