Manneh’s double leads Whitecaps past Baresi’s Battery

Kekuta Manneh scores against the Charleston Battery

Gambian striker Kekuta Manneh’s double and a brilliant second-half volley from Daigo Kobayashi proved enough for Vancouver Whitecaps FC as they held off hosts Charleston Battery in their opening match of the 2013 Carolina Challenge Cup.

Kekuta Manneh may only be 18 years old, but he keeps earning preseason starts for Vancouver and on Saturday night he scored his first two goals in a Whitecaps jersey to pace his team to a 3-2 over Amadou ‘Baresi’ Sanyang’s Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium.

After Manneh had a goal called back for offside in the second minute, the Gambian made no mistake seconds later, as the Whitecaps rushed the Battery goal to open their account.

Manneh could have had another after 22 minutes only to be foiled by Charleston’s keeper. But he would not be denied five minutes later latching onto a ball from forward Darren Mattocks.

Charleston continued to struggle in attack and Vancouver added a third in spectacular fashion six minutes after the break. South Korean Lee Young-Pyo delivered the cross and Japanese Daigo Kobayashi applied a karate chop volley strike to send the Whitecaps cruising.

The final ten minutes proved to be action packed, with Charleston pushing for the equalizer. However, the ‘Caps defence held tight and Vancouver secured the win by a score of 3-2.

The win improves Vancouver’s preseason record to a perfect 4W-0L-0D.