Charlotte FC Earn First Win of the Year Against Austin, Face Miami Tonight ... But Where is Messi?
Despite a costly error on defense and a video review that denied Pep Biel a hat trick, Charlotte FC head into their first 2026 fixture against Miami in good form.
VAR giveth, and VAR taketh away.
Indeed, Charlotte FC had reasons to both celebrate and lament Major League Soccer’s video review — commonly known as VAR — during Saturday night’s 3-1 win over Austin FC.
While an official review of a yellow card ended up helping Charlotte — Austin’s Guilherme Biro was sent off instead after the referee checked the monitor — it also denied a goal to Pep Biel when the official saw the arm of Charlotte’s Brandt Bronico brush the ball on its way to the back of the net.
Biel was undeterred, however, and found the net two more times, earning him Man of the Match honors and a place on the MLS Team of the Matchday.
After the match, Soccer Sheet’s Jorge Torres asked Biel about the team’s progression so far this season, with Biel telling us he already has a connection with Westwood, and wants the play in the midfield to evolve to the point where it is fácil.
“The truth is that after every game you feel more rhythm, better, and happier with it,” Biel responded in Spanish.
Now, the Crown’s attention turns to Inter Miami CF and Leo Messi.
Fun Fact: Miami has never scored at Bank of America Stadium with Messi in the lineup. In 2023, a potential goal was ruled offside in a 1-0 nailbiter that sent Charlotte to the postseason for the first time, and last year, Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina saved a Messi penalty kick — how many people can say that? — after the talismanic #10 attempted to put a cheeky chip past the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
Thanks to an Idan Toklomati hat trick, Charlotte prevailed 3-0.
However, Soccer Sheet confirmed rumors that Lionel Messi did not travel with Inter Miami CF yesterday. More on that below.
Charlotte FC 3, Austin FC 1
After a weak start to the season, Charlotte FC (1-1-1, 4 Points, 6th in the Eastern Conference) showed signs of life against Austin FC (1-1-1, 4 Points, 10th in the Western Conference) with a 3 goal result that almost gave Charlotte fans a Pep Biel hat trick.
The Lineup
Smith loves a debut, so it was no surprise that Aron John – one of the standouts from Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte FC’s second team – was announced as a short-term player for Charlotte FC. The Charlotte native started on the bench but came in in the closing minutes to earn the MLS Debut patch.
“He’s such a good guy, but on top of that, he’s a really good footballer as well,” Smith told Soccer Sheet’s Rebekah Whilden after the match. “He’s got a really good brain. He’s got a really good engine. The future’s bright for him.”
Soccer Sheet asked John after the match about his resilience coming back from injuries during the 2025 season that may have prevented an earlier debut, and he told us his faith played an outsized role in his recovery.
“I was out for five months, coming back, getting injured, coming back, getting injured,” said John. “But I worked out a lot of things in my personal life to discover who I really was, and I think that’s a big thing because once you are out here with all these professionals, ultimately you have to be who you are, be who you were created to be to the fullest. So I think that’s definitely helped a lot, and I learned that through that.”
The Crown started with their third different lineup in as many matches, starting Morrison Agyemang — no relation to Charlotte’s previous striker — at center back with Tim Ream; Brandt Bronico at midfield with captain Ashley Westwood and designated player Pep Biel, and designated players Wilfried Zaha and Liel Abada with striker Idan Toklomati up front. For Agyemang and Bronico, it was their first start of the season.
The Match
The Crown came out the gate looking more dangerous than they had in their first two matches of the year: a sleepy, 1-1 draw in St. Louis, and a disheartening 3-0 loss in Los Angeles against the LA Galaxy. For the first 10 minutes, Los Verdes did not look like a match for Charlotte as the home side consistently reached Austin’s final third.
Abada forced Austin’s first save of the night in the 15th minute, when a dangerous sequence ended with a header from the Israeli international. Austin responded by taking the match into Charlotte’s final third for the next four minutes, but not even a Zaha yellow card – for dissent after a soft foul – stopped Charlotte’s advance.
In the 23rd minute, after another sequence ended with an Toklomati breakaway chance, Austin fullback Guilherme Biro committed an egregious foul by stepping on Toklomati with his spikes after taking down the striker. After the official initially awarded a yellow, Biro saw red. Austin adjusted by taking midfielder Jayden Nelson off the pitch in favor of defender Jonathan Bell.
Toklomati continued to be a difference-maker, tapping in a deflected cross from Zaha for the first goal of the night, his first of the season and the second assist for Zaha.
Then, in an inexplicable error, Agyemang leveled the score for Austin. Austin’s Ilie Sánchez played a long ball down route one, with it going to Charlotte’s new center back. Agyemang tried to head the ball back to goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who wasn’t prepared. The ball went in the back of the net, a much-needed equalizer for the short-handed visitors.
Soccer Sheet spoke with Agyemang after the match about how he was integrating into the Crown’s backline despite the error.
“Yeah, with the help of teams, I'm able to settle, and then, I play both in a preseason with everyone, and it was good.” said Agyemang. “So coming into the game, I had to believe we can have a stable defense and then fight until the end.”
The goal rejuvenated Austin, despite falling a man down. By the end of the half, they had successfully defended 3 of Charlotte’s 4 shots on target – despite not being able to force a save from Kristijan Kahlina in 5 shot attempts.
In the second half Charlotte came out strong, and in the 55th minute they thought they had a goal. Ashley Westwood won a foul to the left of the goal, and set up a set piece that looked like a shorter corner kick. He found Pep Biel who slotted it in from near the penalty spot, but Austin immediately petitioned the official for redress.
After video review, the official called a hand ball on Bronico and disallowed the goal.
Charlotte kept up the attack, with Zaha busting through Austin’s defense in the 63rd minute to earn a clear shot at goal that went wide.
Shortly after, Abada took a chance off a Harry Toffolo cross that he missed to the left. Undeterred, Abada kept pressing and Toffolo sent another cross into Abada. This time, he made a short cross over to Biel, who slotted it in for the go-ahead goal. It was Biel’s second goal of the season, and Abada’s first goal contribution.
Charlotte dominated for the rest of the match, ending up with 11 shots on target to none for Austin, and the vast majority of the possession. It was no surprise, then that in the closing minutes Biel found the net again on a set piece play. Biel secured the brace with a left footed shot from the centre of the box, assisted by Luca de la Torre off the bench for the latter’s first goal contribution of the year.
The Tactics
For the first 20 minutes, Kahlina and others tried to find a route one connection in transition with striker Idan Toklomati, but Charlotte had more success with buildups that created chances inside the box - especially in the second half.
With Biel back to full health, the Spaniard took the corners from right of the goal, with captain Ashley Westwood continuing to be Charlotte’s kicker from the left. Though the goal was disallowed, Westwood and Biel’s short corner kick set piece play worked.
After going a man down and facing multiple dangerous shots from Charlotte - including the overturned goal - El Tree started to filibuster the match, trying the Crown’s patience by delaying the match. Of course, they couldn’t take that approach once Charlotte scored the go-ahead.
For Charlotte’s second goal, they made a much better effort at moving the ball around Austin’s final third, truly taking advantage of Austin’s red card for the first time. Seeing how effective that approach was, Charlotte continued to increase their pass rate after getting some fresh legs on the pitch, dominating possession for the next five minutes and giving substitute Luca De La Torre a chance to showcase his skills.
The final goal came off a set piece, which is encouraging for the squad — as is the news that Smith is going to hire a set piece coach.
Whilden asked Smith after the match about the increased visibility of his assistant staff:
“[Assistant Coach] Gary [Dicker] stepped up. Gary’s really good. [Associate head coach] Miles [Joseph] is good. We’ve got a really good staff with me as well,” said Smith. “They all play a major part in the team going out there and making decisions. What I ask them to do is challenge me and make me think a little bit differently at times because I’ve been doing this a long time and sometimes I might not see something that they see. So I welcome them to keep challenging me and pushing me.”
Tonight, Tonight
Soccer Sheet confirmed rumors that Lionel Messi did not travel with Inter Miami CF yesterday, and it is unclear when he will arrive today, and if he will start.
Additionally, Charlotte had the following players reporting out in the latest MLS injury report:
OUT: Luca de la Torre (head)
OUT: Henry Kessler (lower body)
Luca de la Torre had been following concussion protocol earlier in the week.
The match starts at 7:30 PM tonight at Bank of America Stadium, and will be broadcast on Apple TV. MLS Season Pass is no longer required.
Pre-Match Interviews
Soccer Sheet’s Jorge Torres spoke with Charlotte FC designated player Wilfried Zaha and head coach Dean Smith in advance of tonight’s match.
Photo of the Week: Crown Legacy Undefeated, Leads East after 7-2 Win over Huntsville City
Dean Smith on VAR: “That’s Not What Football’s About”
When Soccer Sheet’s Seth Koch asked Dean Smith about VAR in the wake of Charlotte’s match against Austin (as well as the FA Cup tie between Wrexham and Chelsea), Smith was clear: “that’s not what football’s about.”
Jake Sokol, Seth Koch, and Yara Al Bayyari contributed to this story.
 | A guest post by
|
 | A guest post by
|
 | A guest post by
|