The New York Red Bulls certainly had their moments Sunday afternoon against the USL First Division's Charleston Battery. But not enough good moments for a victory.
The teams traded goals less than a minute apart late in the second half and had to settle for a 1-1 draw Sunday afternoon in the opening round of the Carolina Challenge Cup at Blackbaud Stadium.
New York will face Toronto FC Wednesday night in the second round of the week long tournament. The Battery will take on San Jose in second game of the doubleheader.
Sunday's game, which was originally scheduled for Saturday night, was moved to Sunday because of severe weather.
Playing without probable starters Jozy Altidore, Hunter Freeman and Dane Richards, the Red Bulls still were able to mount a strong attack. New York head coach Juan Carlos Osorio was not at the match, opting to scout players in South America.
"There were some areas of the game where we played well and others where we didn't do so well," said New York assistant coach Richie Williams said. "But overall it was an exhibition game and we are building for the regular season. It would have been nice to win, but a draw is OK and hopefully we'll build on this for the next two games."
In a back and forth affair that saw both teams generate plenty of solid scoring chances, the Battery were able to challenge their MLS opponent throughout the match. While the Red Bulls held a 15-10 advantage on shots during the match, the two teams generated about the same quality scoring opportunities.
"Obviously you'd like to finish all your chances," Williams said. "But sometimes you're not capable of doing that. We had some misses that hopefully when the regular season comes around we're able to put them in the back of the net.
"You have to give the Battery credit. They didn't sit back too much. It was a good game. It wasn't too physical out there and both teams played well."
The Red Bulls had an excellent chance to score in the 19th minute when midfielder Danleigh Borman served a beautiful ball into the six-yard box to Juan Pablo Angel. But Angel's header just slipped over the cross bar.
The Battery countered just two minutes later when midfielder Mike Richardson made a strong run down the left side to just outside the six-yard box. New York keeper Jon Conway held the near post and punched Richardson's blast out of bounds for a Battery corner kick.
The Battery had another solid scoring chance in the 32nd minute when striker Aaron King picked up a loose ball just outside the penalty area and started toward the goal. But Conway came out to challenge King's run and got just enough of the ball to deflect it wide of the goal.
The Red Bulls just missed a goal in the 37th minute off a set piece. Borman served the ball from about 25 yards out on the right side to the back post. Mike Magee was on the other end, but his header's bounced off the left post to end the threat.
"I thought Danleigh was good all game," Williams said. "His crossing was good and he was getting up and down the left flank. There's a lot of running in that position. But I thought he did well and he served some very nice balls to some of our forwards. He's improving with each outing and we look forward to him contributing to the team during the regular season."
Angel nearly scored again in the 49th minute, picking up a loose ball about 20 yards out and blasting a shot on net that Charleston 'keeper Dusty Hudock stopped for the save.
The Red Bulls appeared to score a goal in the 69th minute when striker Chris Megaloudis redirected a ball past Hudock from just outside the six-yard box. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Battery got another nice scoring opportunity when Jordan Hughes made a strong run down the right side. Hughes got to the 18-yard box, cut to the middle of the field and blasted a shot on net that New York backup 'keeper Zach Thornton stopped for the save.
New York finally broke open the scoreless tie off a set piece on Kevin Mesa's header in the 79th minute. After Charleston's Brandon Curren was called for a foul, New York's Sinisa Ubiparipovic served the ball from about 25 yards out on the left side. Mesa, a trial player for the Red Bulls, leaped into the air and got just enough of his head on the ball to get it past Hudock for the score.
"I was given an opportunity to get about 20 minutes today and I wanted to make the most of it," Mesa said. "(Ubiparipovic) gave me a great ball and I fortunately for me I got enough of it to score."
Charleston answered less than a minute later when David Kenga made a strong run down the left side, dribbled past a New York defender, and hit a hard, low shot that just got past Thornton for the goal in the 80th minute.
"I got a chance to take a shot and I didn't want to blow it," Kenga said. "They had just stabbed us in the heart with their goal and we wanted to answer immediately. New York is a big team, but it's not about names on the front of the jersey it's about giving it your all every time you're on the field."
The Battery had a chance to win the game in stoppage time when Kendall Jagdeosingh came storming down the right flank, dribbled past a Red Bulls defender, and took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. The shot was curling toward the back post, but Thornton made a diving effort and got just enough of the ball to knock it off the post and out of danger.
"That was a great individual effort by Kendall and certainly we could have won the game outright with that shot," said Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. "A couple more inches to the right and that ball is tucked in on the far post. I thought it was a very good effort by everyone, especially considering it was our first real game of the preseason. A draw puts us right in there for the rest of the tournament."
Red Bulls 1, Charleston Battery 1
Scoring Summary
NY: Mesa (Ubiparipovic) 79'
CHAR: Kenga (unassisted) 80'
Disciplinary Summary
CHAR: Velton (caution) 1'
CHAR: Reda (caution) 44'
CHAR: Alonso (caution) 45'
CHAR: Kenga (caution) 80'
New York Red Bulls: Jon Conway (GK) (Zach Thornton 46'), Kevin Goldthwaite, Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes, Danleigh Borman (Kevin Mesa 74'), Seth Stammler, Claudio Reyna (capt.) (Michael Palacio 61'), Luke Sassano (Sinisa Ubiparipovic 46'), Mike Magee (Ricky Schramm 73'), Oscar Echeverry (Chris Megaloudis 67'), Juan Pablo Angel (John Wolyniec 61')
Charleston Battery: Dusty Hudock, Tim Vetton, Marco Reda (Brandon Curran 46'), Jack Stewart, John Wilson (Troy Smith 46'), Luke Kreamalmeyer (Jordan Hughes 67'), Pato Aguilera (Andre Toussaint 61'), Osvaldo Alonso (Dominic Cianciarulo 86'), Mike Richardson (David Kenga 61'), Darren Spicer (Louie Rolko 74'), Aaron King (Kendall Jagdeosingh 74')
Andrew Miller is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
