First Half
Lineup: Bingham, Lindsey, Malanda, Privett, Uronen, Westwood, Bronico, Petkovic, Vargas, Tavares, Swiderski
Charlotte FC Head Coach Dean Smith continued his theme of limited rotation in the team’s final Leagues Cup group stage match on Wednesday night against Cruz Azul with four changes. David Bingham got a rewarding spot start in place of Kristijan Kahlina, Jaylin Lindsey came into the team for Nathan Byrne (out with a bruised toe), Nikola Petkovic got the start as the attacking midfielder, and Karol Swiderski started up top instead of Patrick Agyemang.
CLTFC had the first great scoring chance just two minutes in. Swiderski went sprinting free into the right channel and played a cross on the ground to Iuri Tavares. Tavares clanged it off the post with his one-time strike, but the flag was raised for offside, anyway.
Otherwise, Cruz Azul had the larger share of chances through the opening 20 minutes. Left wingback Carlos Rotondi had an excellent look at goal in the 15th minute as he met a chipped cross at the back post. However, he skewed his volley well over the bar.
Cruz Azul captain Jose Rivero had two good chances in this period. The first was a long-range shot that flew just wide of Bingham’s goal. The second was the better of the two; Rivero received a cutback to the penalty spot but fired his shot right at Bingham.
Swiderski was influential and central to Charlotte’s chances. He pounced on a misplay by a Cruz Azul center back, but he couldn’t get around goalkeeper Kevin Mier to get a shot on goal. He also played a well-weighted pass to Vargas on the right wing in the 23rd minute, who in turn tried to return it to the Polish forward with an early cross, but the pass was a bit too strong.
The clash of styles between the two teams resulted in end-to-end action. Cruz Azul pressed with intensity, creating turnovers high up the field, while Charlotte FC often went direct to bypass the press and get their forwards running in space.
A good example of this came in the 27th minute, when Jose Rivero (the engine for Cruz Azul in midfield) played a cross into the box. A scramble and multiple shots resulted, before Rivero himself had a great chance to direct a cross on goal from the six-yard box but swung and missed.
Right away on the other end, CLTFC had space to attack, which Iuri Tavares exploited with great one-on-one dribbling. His cross was headed towards Swiderski on the front post but was cleared out by a defender. Andrew Privett had an open header on the back post from the resulting corner, but he put it wide.
In the 40th minute, Cruz Azul took their turn to hit the post on an offside chance. Right wingback Jorge Sanchez made a dynamic run behind Jere Uronen and Privett and received the ball inside the box. He struck the shot off the post, and the offside flag immediately popped up.
After that, the chances cooled off, and Charlotte FC defended resolutely to reach halftime with a shutout intact.
Second Half
Lineup: Bingham, Lindsey (88’), Malanda, Privett, Uronen, Westwood, Bronico, Petkovic (73’), Vargas (88’), Tavares (73’), Swiderski
Substitutions: Agyemang (73’), Dejaegere (73’), Tuiloma (88’), Smalls (88’)
The second half started more methodically than the first half. Charlotte FC was able to hold possession more consistently, and there were few overall chances through the opening fifteen minutes. Alongside a few half chances, the most notable moment was a yellow card for Cruz Azul’s Carlos Rotondi in the 54th minute for a bad tackle on Kerwin Vargas.
However, in the 65th minute, the calm that had settled over the match was quickly ripped away. After Brandt Bronico mistimed a tackle at midfield, he was quickly booked by referee Bryan Lopez. Cruz Azul defender Willer Ditta sprinted in to shove Bronico over, earning an immediate yellow and kicking off a big scrum.
CLTFC captain Ashley Westwood got right in the middle of the shoving, ending up with a completely ripped jersey and a yellow card of his own. Then, after something happened on the coach’s sideline, the referee walked over and issued straight red cards to assistant coaches for both teams.
The intensity of the match really ratcheted up at this point, for obvious reasons. Cruz Azul had a penalty shout from Georgios Giakoumakis waved down immediately, and both teams continued to create half chances on both ends.
In the 73rd minute, both teams made two changes. On the CLTFC side, Patrick Agyemang entered to partner Swiderski up top, and Brecht Dejaegere took up the left wing spot. Petkovic and Tavares exited the match.
Right after the hydration break, Vargas nearly scored Charlotte’s best chance of the night. Westwood served in a good corner to the back post, and the ball fell to Vargas’ feet after he mistimed his header. He snapped at the shot while falling backward, and it flashed just over the bar.
Corners continued to serve as goal scoring opportunities for Charlotte in their efforts to score a game winner. In the 91st minute, substitute Patrick Agyemang nearly clinched the winner with the last good chance in regulation time. A recycled ball from a corner kick found its way to Ashley Westwood, who then lofted it to the 23-year-old striker, placing him just a few feet away from securing victory.
When the final whistle blew, both teams had remained scoreless, resulting in a 0-0 draw. For the second consecutive year, the matchup would be decided by a penalty shootout.
In his club debut, Bingham emerged as the hero by making two crucial penalty saves, earning Charlotte a valuable extra point from the result.
