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As great as 2008 was, we never had the chance to say this last year… it’s two victories in a row for Real Salt Lake! Utah’s team traded free kick goals with the Charleston Battery before seeing captain Kyle Beckerman hit a tremendous game-winner in the 77th minute, lifting RSL to a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Challenge Cup tournament hosts at Blackbaud Stadium. The win puts RSL back into a first-place tie with Toronto FC after the second of three matchdays in the CCC, with both teams sitting on the maximum six points heading into their de facto championship match on Satuday.

We know you’re a stickler for the details, so take the jump to see the blow-by-blow rundown from tonight’s contest! (special thanks to Battery Communicatiosn guru Andrew Bell for the photos)

Greetings everyone, and thanks for following tonight’s game here at Behind the Shield. With the first game (a 2-1 Toronto FC win over D.C. United) getting started a tad late, the kickoff for RSL v. Charleston is now set for right around 5:30 5:40 MT.

Remember that, thanks to our friends from TFC TV, tonight’s match will be streamed live on the very internet you’re on right now… click here to get all the live, streaming goodness.

RSL’s starting line-up will look drastically different than the one that took the field for Saturday’s 3-0 win over D.C. in the CCC opener, with the Utahns’ patented 4-diamond 4-2 looking a little something like this:

GK: Seitz

DEF: Beltran - Horst - Borchers - Joy (Cox 55′)

MID: Alexandre (deep) - Mathis (R) - Grabavoy (L) - Williams (#10)

FWD: Joseph Zewe (Yura Movsisyan 55′) - Findley

Working on a Battery first-XI…

Aaaaaaaaand, the Battery XI:

GK: Keith Wiggins

DEF: Frankie Sanfillipo - Nelson Akwari - Matt Bobo - O’Brien Woodbine

MID: Chris Williams (Tsuyoshi Yoshitake 60) - Tyler Hemmings - David Kenga - Kenji Treschuk

FWD: Ian Fuller (Jamal Geathers 60)- Reynier Alcantara (Darren Spicer 46)

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2′ - It’s the Battery getting the first good sniffs towards goal, as a dangerous cross from the left endline goes through the top of the six - and right through it without a touch.

3′ - Charleston attacks in the left side of the box again, but a physical challenge by Alexandre is deemed fair, and his clearance ultimately gives RSL a throw in.

6′ - Alexandre sticks with a loose ball at the top of the Battery area, wins it, then flicks it over the top to Zewe, whose shot from the corner of the six hits squarely off the far right post and is cleared by the Battery.

9′ - From the “Well, that was fun…” category, Seitz comes out of his box to beat a defender to a nice-but-heavily-weighted through ball, only to kick it off said charging defender. The ball took a couple/few bounces towards the RSL net before Seitz easily gathered it up. No harm, no foul, but still!

11′ - We’re saying Alexandre’s name a LOT tonight. Jean gets into a challenge for a 50-50 ball on the right flank, sending a Battery player to the turf for a couple minutes and resulting in a foul 30 yards from goal. The free kick is headed a couple times in the box before a disjointed RSL clearance.

16′ - Not much doing lately… a Mathis chip into the top of the area for Findley is just a bit heavy, allowing Battery ‘keeper Keith Wiggins to snare it.

20′ - Findley runs towards the penalty area and draws a free kick opportunity 25 yards out from goal. It’s right where Andy struck from the other night and it’s he and Mathis standing over the ball…

21′ … and it’s Mathis shooting low through the wall and past a mixed-up Wiggins into the left side of goal! RSL leads 1-0.

26′ - The home side with some chances, as a Battery corner is sent to the top of the 18, and the ensuing shot gets pinged around the six but never quite gets on goal. However, RSL fails to clear completely, and a cross from the right flank ends up being a shot, but Seitz recovers well to leap and grab it in front of the crossbar.

31′ - Very direct play from both sides… refreshing to see, really. Corner for CHL… and a goal, as a header from 16 yards out off the outswinger gets through considerable traffic at the six and just crosses the goalline. It took more than a few seconds for the referee to confirm the goal… and many more seconds for him to decide that it was indeed NOT a goal. With the ensuing kick for RSL taken from the top of the penalty, one can only assume that the Battery were offside or collected a foul on the play, but frankly, we’re not willing to stake anything on that statement.

34′ - Battery gets numbers heading towards goal and into the penalty area, but Beltran’s closing speed forces a shot high and right.

37′ - Mathis finds the ball at his feet, and he cuts back towards the middle of the field to take a left-footed shot, which is deflected and smothered by Wiggins.

39′ - A lengthy spell of RSL possession ends in a tunrover and a quick counter by the Battery. But Nat Borchers makes a solid tackle inside the area to disarm the play.

42′ - Another Borchers 1-v-1 defensive gem inside the area squashes a Charleston half-chance.

45′ - Seitz darts off his line to the right side of the 6 to beat a Charleston attacker to the ball.

HALF - And it’s a Mathis free kick that stands as the lone goal through 45 minutes. Should the result hold for the Utahns, RSL will join Toronto FC atop the CCC standings, as the “Reds” posted 2-1 wins in their first two games over Charleston and D.C. United.

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47 ‘ - Battery line-up has been entered in the pre-match goodness… and they’ve made one sub at the half, with Darren entering for Reynier Alcantara.

47′ - Borchers draws a yellow for a tackle just outside the RSL area, allowing a dangerous free kick opportunity from 23 yards out.

49 ‘ - And how dangerous it was, as Ian Fuller pulls the trigger and scores a beauty into the left side of goal past a diving Seitz. Match tied 1-1.

52′ - Joy goes to the ground with an apparent injury, and it looks like Kreis will go with the left-hander (or footer) from the bullpen, as rookie Raphael Cox gets set to enter the match.

55′ - Yura Movsisyan joins in on the bench party, entering with Cox in place of Zewe and Joy, respectively.

56′ - Alexandre takes a little janut up the field and then takes a go from 45 yards, his heavy shot missing target.

58′ - Horst picks up a yellow card, two minutes for forechecking, and another two minutes for boarding.

60′ - Two subs at the hour for Charleston: Tsuyoshi Yoshitake for Chris Williams and Jamal Geathers for Ian Fuller.

65′ - Horst gets a head on RSL’s first corner of the night, but it bounces right of goal.

68′ - Kreis goes with a shift change… incoming are: Beckerman, Escalada, Morales, Wingert, Olave, and Johnson. out are Alexandre, Findley, Williams, Grabavoy, Horst, aaaaaaaaa… Beltran.

74′ - Here comes the RSL kitchen sink, as Escalada first-times Javy’s lofted pass from the corner of the area. Not off by all that much.

76′ - A third RSL corner in the last two minutes… and Javy’s getting a lot of the ball away from the dead ball pieces, too. A good sign folks.

77′ - An Uber-goal from Beckerman! RSL forces a turnover 30 yards from goal, and the ball pops to Beckerman, who procedes to send a looping shot from that distance over Wiggins and under the crossbar. If this were in the regular season, well, you’d crack open an ice cold Sierra Mist for that one.

81′ - It’s one-way traffic for the Claret-and-Cobalt, as they prepare for their sixth corner in the last 15 minutes. Some great pressure all over the field and some nice linking through the midfield.

83′ - Seitz slides in for a ball at the top of his area, going through one of his defenders in addition to the Battery attacker.

85′ - Dangerous chance off a corner from Charleston, but the header flashes across the RSL six-yard box and past the left post.

89′ - Yura gets put behind the Battery backline on a lofted through ball but, unlike the other night, he can’t finish this one off, as a defender sends Movsisyan to the turf and wins the ball.

90 - 4 minutes of stoppage in the second half.

93+’ - A hopeful Battery header from a near-angle is sent right to Seitz.

FINAL - And there it is, Kyle’s bending beauty in 77th stands as the game-winner in a 2-1 triumph over the Carolina Challenge Cup host Charleston Battery.

Tonight’s win puts the Claret-and-Cobalt in the driver’s seat in the chase for the CCC trophy, as the Utah side drew even with Toronto FC on six points. However, with goal differential as a tie-breaker, all RSL (+4) needs to do is draw the Reds (+2) in the tournament’s penultimate game on Saturday to bring back another trophy for the mantle at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Remember, you can catch Saturday’s CCC Championship game at 3:00 p.m. MT the same place you did tonight - TFC TV (who we’d again like to thank for streaming tonight’s affair) and Behind the Shield. Thanks for following along!