A tale of two halves is a tale as old as time.
It felt almost like deja vu. Charlotte FC found another gear in the second half as they powered past Cincinnati to a 2-0 victory. It's the same story from their first home match of the season.
Whatever is going on in that locker room at halftime, keep doing it. A mistake from Cincy allowed Abada to show his speed once again and slotted home his first goal of the season. Patrick Agyemang followed it up three minutes later with his first goal of the season. It was a classic Pat goal. Beaming past the backline, left foot, back post, in the net.
Kristijan Kahlina was perfect on the night with seven saves. The backline was clinical all night long. Although Cincinnati certainly had their chances to put one in the net. In the end, it was a typical Charlotte FC performance at home. The Fortress was The Fortress.
That's an undefeated start to the season at home. 2-1-1 to start the campaign. And once again, the real Queen City stood up.
Clip Notes:
Cincinnati came out in a back four this match. They started it in the last MLS match against Toronto and saw success. This is different from their typical three-center-back, two-wingback approach.
- Charlotte made it clear early that they were looking for balls in behind. Patrick had a couple of runs at it but no clear chances. Miles Robinson was up to the task early.
- Luca Orellano is going right at Tim Ream multiple times. Tim stuck in and won that battle early.
- Wilfried Zaha tested early in this one. He was a little shaky, but he started to find his groove and frustrate Deandre Yedlin.
- In the 27th minute, Miles Robinson made an incredible play on a darting Patrick Agymang, preventing a shot on goal. Miles looked ready to battle all night but picked up a knock. The early sub changed the match as Pat started to find clearer chances on goal.
- HT: Stalemate.
- Second Half: No longer Stalemate. (I told you it was deja vu)
- Charlotte upped the pressure. Clear locker room chat from the Gaffer lit a fire. (I mean, these are just the same notes from Atlanta)
- GOAL: A mistake from Cincy opens up Abada and Zaha to pounce and run. Both were there to finish it off, but Liel carried it the whole way and slotted it home. It's a much-needed goal for him to get off the mark this season. 1-0.
- GOAL: Pat finally found his breakthrough. Run after run after run. He kept peppering the backline, finally beating his man, and fired it home. Pep Biel set him up with a lovely through ball. 2-0.
- Editor's note: The Bank is electric, and The Fortress kits are fuego.
- The defense and Kahlina. What a night. They stayed stout and resolute all night long. Their shape was consistent and hard to break down. Yes, Cincinnati found its time and space. Could they have easily scored on occasion? Yes. ...But they didn't. (Seriously, this is the same note from Atlanta.)
- Kahlina with a few masterful saves to keep this one at 0. Multiple tests from the likes of Evander and Orellano. Including a free kick that saw Evander rattle the inside of the post. Thankfully, it bounced Charlotte's way.
DUB. This Charlotte FC side put in a strong second half performance. There are still tweaks to be made, but you can see them gelling with each match.
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NEXT UP:
CHARLOTTE FC VS. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The Crown is back at Bank of America Stadium next weekend. Be here March 22 at 7:30 P.M.
SEE YOU AT THE FORTRESS.
