Charleston Battery dismantled Richmond Kickers 4-0 on the road Saturday, with goals from Langston Blackstock (20'), Colton Swan (40'), Miguel Berry (69'), and Jeremy Kelly (73') sealing a comprehensive USL League One victory.
The Battery took control early. Blackstock opened the scoring in the 20th minute, converting a chance created by Kirill Pakhomov to put the visitors ahead. Richmond struggled to find a foothold, and frustration crept in — Ali Sasankhah picked up a yellow card in the 39th minute. A minute later, Charleston doubled their lead. Swan finished from a Miguel Berry feed to make it 2-0, and the Kickers headed into halftime with a mountain to climb.
Kelly, who had been booked in first-half stoppage time, made sure his name appeared on the scoresheet for better reasons in the second half. But first, Berry got one of his own in the 69th minute, capping a strong individual performance with a goal after already providing the assist on Swan's finish. Four minutes later, Kelly added the fourth, latching onto a pass from Maalique Foster to put the result beyond any doubt at 4-0.
Richmond never found an answer. The Kickers failed to register on the scoreboard and were outclassed across the 90 minutes, with Charleston's attack proving too sharp and too varied to contain. Berry was at the heart of much of the damage, directly involved in three of the four goals.
The emphatic win will boost Charleston's position in the League One standings and raise serious questions about where Richmond go from here after a chastening defeat at home.
USL League One