It was a tough night for Charlotte FC.
The Crown dominated the first half, with some of their best attacking chances of the season. But what is plaguing this squad from reaching its potential right now is finishing chances. They could have had 2-3 by halftime, but that final finish was missing tonight.
Even more frustrating, New England seemed to have one plan: play aggressively, not be afraid to foul, and foul hard. Patrick Agyemang and Wilfried Zaha were getting the brunt of that all night. The referee warned New England multiple times for repeated fouls. Twice, there were chances for a second yellow, but none were shown. Dean Smith will have something to say on this, no doubt.
In the end, a Carles Gil chance turned into a goal. He can do that to you on any given night.
Charlotte FC suffered its first home defeat of the season. It was tough to swallow, but they will look to bounce back quickly.
Clip Notes:
- Nick Scardina gets his second straight start. Attack and midfield unchanged. Ream back in the XI with Doumbia out injured.
- New England is immediately pressing super high with nearly six players past the Charlotte midfield. The counter out of the back to Patrick Agyemeng should be there.
- Zaha with an early chance in the box but couldn't quite control it. He was a menace down the left side, repeatedly pressing with the ball and trying to get inside for a shot. Hacked down numerous times.
- Scardina continues to look incredibly composed. The youngster is ready for his moment and looks like he belongs.
- HT: A lot of back and forth up and down the pitch. Razor-thin edge from one side scoring. Pat and Zaha are earning foul after foul. Charlotte will feel hard done by not having one in the net.
- Ceballos pulls down Zaha within 4 minutes. He should have seen a second yellow.
- Zaha with some of his best attacking threats of the season. He has another cut inside, skating past defenders, and plays a perfect ball to Abada in the box. His shot left a lot to be desired and went wide.
- Carles Gil is in full free-roam mode. He is all over the pitch trying to get the ball on his foot and attack.
- Pep flies in for a header and pulls up after. Held his hamstring. Subs come on, but Pep was not planned. Pat, Abada, and Pep are off. Kerwin Vargas, Idan Toklomati, and Eryk Williamson on.
- Referee loses a handle on this one in the 70th minute. Just not protecting Zaha. Things get chippy from all sides and a couple skirmishes break out. No cards.
- With Pat and Pep out, Charlotte has difficulty finding a rhythm in the attack. Idan can't quite win the same balls Pat does.
- GOAL: He does it. Gil, with a bit of space outside the box, hits one on frame, and it freezes Kahlina with an attacker coming through and sneaks it in the net. There were shouts for offside interference, but VAR confirms the goal.
- A few half-chances and more questionable calls round out the rest of the match. Just not Charlotte's night. They end with over double the number of shots and four times more xG, but there is nothing to show.
Charlotte hit the road to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Crew on Saturday, May 3rd at 7:30 PM ET on Apple TV.
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