EDINBURG — A lightning delay forced RGVFC off the pitch in the 21st minute and with it the hosts’ bright start to the match.
The Toros were the far better side for the opening 20 minutes with a relentless attack that yielded countless of chances against the visiting Charleston Battery, but after the lightning break the visitors took their chances and left the Rio Grande Valley with a 2-0 victory.
“Prior to coming here for the media session, I reviewed the first half of the match, and we dominated this team [Charleston] but we do not, for whichever reason, put the ball in the net. They had one attack in the first half, and we make a small mistake and get punished,” Toros head coach Wilmer Cabrera said.
Battery striker Augustine Williams converted a 64th minute penalty to double the visiting side’s advantage and give himself a brace.
The Sierra Leon international opened the scoring a few minutes after play resumed. The Toros failed to clear a ball whipped in the box and Williams pounced to put the Battery up 1-0.
Leading the pack in the East! 🐺
Two goals from Augustine Williams and a 10-save performance from Trey Muse helped the @Chas_Battery defeat @RGVFC 2-0!#RGVvCHS | https://t.co/3TkwJeS8P1 pic.twitter.com/AXKgT2NiVp
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 28, 2023
Toros’ debut keeper, league debut, Carlos Merancio could not keep high percentage chances, a point-blank shot and a penalty, out of the back of his net. The two goals were enough for Battery and they would see out the match.
““It is always good to earn minutes, but it is obviously difficult to lose points at home. The most important aspect is the team, not the individual marks. As a unit we need to keep working toward improvement to shake this off and lift the team spirit,” Merancio said.
Ricky Ruiz, Taylor Davila and Christian François all had good chances in the opening minutes, only to see their shots saved. The Toros outshot the Battery 20-to-10 and directed more of those shots on target 10-to-2. RGVFC finished with 59% of the possession.
“We can change our playstyle, drop back, and clear the ball, but that is not the way that we feel is the way we should play at all. The players know that if we continue playing with good possession and being aggressive, tonight we had ten shots on goal or more but were unable to score while their goalkeeper just received easy shots to his body. I take the responsibility for this naturally but when we play anywhere, home, or away, teams respect us because we have good control of the ball,” Cabrera said.