Goals by #9 Dane Kelly (18’) & #56 Gabriel Obertan (47’)
GREENVILLE, S.C. (August 5, 2023) – The Charlotte Independence faced a late defeat due to a penalty kick against Greenville Triumph SC, 3-2, on Saturday evening at Paladin Stadium. The Jacks return home on Saturday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. against South Georgia Tormenta FC at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Head Coach Mike Jeffries provided his overall thoughts on the match postgame saying, “Obviously giving away two goals in stoppage time in the first half is very disappointing. We fought really hard to get back in the game. It’s tough when a game gets determined in this way, but that’s part of the game.”
Neither team threatened in the first 15 minutes as the possession remained mostly in the middle of the pitch. With the first shot of the match, #9 Dane Kelly put the Independence in the lead in the 18th minute. Kelly passed the ball out wide to #8 Joel Johnson who fed the ball back to Kelly inside the box for the forward to send a shot sailing over the goalkeeper.
The Jacks earned the first corner kick of the match in the 27th minute after a dangerous cross from #17 Clay Dimick was cleared out the backline before it could reach #6 Omar Ciss in front of goal.
After not being called into action much during the first half, #1 Austin Pack made a crucial goal line save in the start of stoppage time after a ball bounced off a few defenders. Only a few plays later, the Triumph equalized on a corner kick with a header by #25 Leonardo Castro. It was suddenly 2-1 in favor of the hosts after more unfortunate bounces in the penalty area allowed Castro to score a second goal.
“We were good for the most part,” Johnson said. “Everything was reduced to small details. It was going well until we conceded the first goal, and I think it was a lack of concentration.”
Greenville did not record a single shot on goal in the first 45 minutes but entered halftime with three shots on target after a fortunate seven minutes of stoppage time.
“There were stretches where we were under pressure, but I thought we actually did a good job of managing it for the most part,” Jeffries commented. “Up until the corner kick goal, we limited chances fairly well.”
Halftime: Greenville Triumph SC 2, Charlotte Independence 1.
Less than two minutes after entering the match as a halftime substitute, #56 Gabriel Obertan leveled the score with a shot beating the goalkeeper at the near post. Kelly played a through ball narrowly past a defender to Obertan on the left side of the penalty area to set up Obertan’s first goal of the season.
Similar to the first half, the second period saw the ball mostly possessed in the middle of the field with occasional attacking chances for each side.
“There were stretches in the second half where we had half chances, but we were not good enough when we got in the final third,” Jeffries added.
The Independence faced a bit of misfortune as Greenville earned a penalty kick after a handball late in the game. #8 Aaron Walker converted the penalty kick to give the Triumph a 3-2 lead.
The Jacks continued attacking with a dangerous pair of headers by #4 Nick Spielman and Dimick off a corner kick in stoppage time. None of the final chances sealed a breakthrough as the Triumph emerged with the win.
Full time: Greenville Triumph SC 3, Charlotte Independence 2.
“We have to move on quickly and shift our focus to Tormenta at home Saturday,” Dimick stated.
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: The Charlotte Independence will play the only home game in August on Saturday, August 12 against South Georgia Tormenta FC. First kick is set for 7:00 p.m. at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
