Charlotte FC scored early and late to register a 2-0 MLS victory over New York City FC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday night.
Charlotte FC scored early and late to register a 2-0 MLS victory over New York City FC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday night.
Maxi Moralez and his teammates could not find a goal on Saturday night. (NewYorkCityFC.com Photo)
Charlotte FC scored early and late to register a 2-0 MLS victory over New York City FC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday night.
The start of the match was delayed a little more than an hour due to inclement weather as it kicked off at 8:58 p.m.
NYCFC (31 points) dropped to 9-8-4 while Charlotte (29) snapped a four-game winless streak and improved to 9-11-2. The Cityzens have won only once in 10 away matches this season (1-5-4).
Not even the return of regular goalkeeper Matt Freese, who was on Concacaf Gold Cup duty with the U.S. men’s national team for the past month, could boost the visitors.
“The truth is, it’s been pretty difficult for us to get a win on the road,” midfielder Agustin Ojeda said. “But this is a group, it’s a family, and I feel like we all have to push through this together. Everyone who’s part of the group knows that we all need to take responsibility to turn this around, just like we did last year. What I can tell you is that we have to keep working and keep trying. I believe we’re a great team that can overcome what we’re going through.”
Idan Toklomati, off a left-wing feed from Pep Biel, lifted the hosts into the lead in the 14th minute.
“It’s a moment where our defensive shape allows them to attack a corridor on our right side, which was something that shouldn’t be happening in that moment, but we make up for it,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “Everybody realizes we have to close down the spaces in defense, and once we’re back in our structure, they surprised us with a deep run in the corridor again. There was no communication between a few guys in that moment, which allowed them to enter the box and finish us off. It was an unfortunate moment, because it’s something that we normally control quite well, but today it hurt us.”
Kerwin Vargas put the game away in the 81st minute, burying a shot from the top of the box for a two-goal bulge. Kerwin took two back flips to celebrate the goal before running into the stands to celebrate with the Crown’s fans.
At times, the second half seemed like a permanent power play for City as it continually had possession and forced the issue.
However, Charlotte managed to hold the visiting side at bay.
With goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina out of the net, center back Adilson Malanda, standing on the goal line, headed Alonso Martinez’s shot out of harm’s way.
Maxi Moralez tried to solve Kahlina in the 78th minute, but the keeper dove to his right to catch the Argentine’s drive.
“It’s disappointing because of the loss, but we can take away a positive note in that during the first 30 minutes of the second half, we were able to control the game,” Ojeda said. “I think that’s something we can take with us, but obviously, we are left with a bitter taste. Nobody likes to lose. Especially when we knew we might have had a chance to tie it or even win this match [against Charlotte FC], which was very important for us.”
Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 28 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published
The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at
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