Another Southern Draw on Hero Night
Charlotte FC drops to draws for the fifth time in a row, this time against a league-leading Cincinnati squad.
July 8th was Hero Night at Bank of America Stadium.
Captain America-themed challenge coins and warmup kits were part of the simultaneous celebration of Marvel’s intellectual property and America’s service members. The supporters section lifted a tifo featuring Charlotte FC mascot Sir Minty as Thanos as fireworks soared through the air.
Meanwhile, on the pitch, Charlotte FC needed a win, and the season needed saving.
The Crown had four draws and two losses in their last six matches - 4 points out of a possible 18. They had fallen out of playoff position with only 25 points on the season. The team continued to be plagued by injuries after a year of adversity on and off the pitch. Calls to remove coach Christian Lattanzio had grown louder, and injured striker Enzo Copetti wasn’t putting up numbers equal to his effort.
Charlotte needed a hero to give them a chance against FC Cincinnati, the top team in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.
Enter Karol Świderski.
43,613 fans braved an early rain and flash flood warnings to see the Polish forward play one of his best matches ever as Charlotte’s designated player. With acrobatic kicks, he sent assists from Kerwin Vargas and Jaylin Lindsey into the back of the net in the 14th and 24th minutes, respectively.
Charlotte led 2-0 going into the locker room.
In the second half, Świderski made aggressive runs at Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano, with one shot bouncing off the right post, and another almost going through Celentano’s legs.
While Świderski’s first-ever brace in MLS was also against Cincinnati at home last year, he was even more more dangerous in this match. After the match, Charlotte FC head coach Christian Lattanzio lauded Swiderski’s performance.
“I think it’s one of those games where he could have scored four goals … If he scores that third goal the game would have been over,” said Lattanzio. “From a number 9 that’s what we want.”
However, FC Cincinnati came back in the second half to force a draw and diminish Swiderski’s Man of the Match performance. Lindsey committed an unfortunate foul five minutes into the half when his boot connected with Álvaro Barreal's midair in the penalty box. Luciano Acosta took the penalty for Cincinnati, easily besting Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Kahlina is now 0 for 7 in penalty situations in MLS league play.
Barreal continued to press on the left side and beat Lindsey twice in the 68th minute - first on a run, then on a piviot near the goal - to shoot past Guzman Corujo and Kahlina and score the equalizer.
In the 75th minute, a double-yellow-red-card shown to Cincinnati would give Charlotte renewed hope. Ian Murphy fouled Kamil Jozwiak, striking him late on the shin and causing significant pain to the Polish winger that was still with him after the match.
However, not even a man advantage could break Charlotte’s streak of ties, now at five. FC Cincinnati (13-2-6, 45 points) remains solidly atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 7-point advantage over both Nashville SC and St. Louis City SC in the race for the Supporters’ Shield.
Charlotte FC (6-8-8, 26 points) falls to 12th place in the Eastern Conference. 5 teams from 9th through 13th currently have 26 points, but Montreal is ahead with the most wins (first tiebreaker) at 8, and Charlotte has the worst goal differential (second tiebreaker) at -8 of the teams with 6 wins.
Charlotte next heads to Quebec to face CF Montreal on July 15 at 7:30 PM in the last match before the MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal FC on July 19. For the second year in a row, no Charlotte FC players will play in the match.