CHARLOTTE – For the first time this season, Charlotte FC flew back home in good spirits. CLTFC earned their first every away win, a historic moment that the team celebrated.
“It feels good. Everybody is happy, guys were singing, playing music. It was a long time coming so the flight was good,” said forward Andrew Shinyashiki about the flight back home from Houston.
Not winning away for over half a season can take a toll mentally. Shinyashiki described it as a weight the team had on their shoulders that has now lifted.
“I think it was weighing on us a little bit. I think it would be a lie if I said it wasn’t. I. haven’t been here as long as the other guys so I know that maybe it was weighing on them a little bit more than me. But like Lattanzio always says you can’t control if you are going to win or lose the game, you have to do the things right.
“To be fair we probably should have won that game four or five to zero. We missed a number of chances, including myself. So, we did the things right, when you do the things right you deserve to get points and that is what happened.”
Shinyashiki believes the team can carry the momentum from their first win on the road to their match against Nashville SC. CLTFC defender Anton Walkes had previously stressed the importance of momentum in this league and Shinyashiki doesn’t think any different.
“I think momentum is a really big thing in this league. Sometimes there are teams who go on runs and I think that if we can do that right now it would huge for us. So, we just need to carry that confidence because I think when you play with confidence you have a better chance of winning than when you don’t.”
As to how the team is preparing for the challenge against Nashville – not much different.
“I don’t think we do anything different. They have to come here and beat us at our house. So. they are going to have to adapt some things and we are going to play our game. I think that most times it’s been enough to get us results, so I think the preparation stays the same. We don’t try to change anything or do anything special.
“But yeah, Nashville is a very capable opponent. So we need to be on our a-game because it’s going to be a difficult game.”
