Charlotte FC May Have Found Their Missing Piece
With a goal and an an undeniable presence, Charlotte FC's Wilfried Zaha gave the Crown the kind of performance they've been waiting for from a designated player.
Was Dean Smith’s side up to the challenge of a stacked Atlanta United team that’s projected to be the biggest threat to Inter Miami’s dominance in the Eastern Conference?
A 2-0 statement win points to yes, with Wilfried Zaha making key contributions on the pitch and in the locker room.
Charlotte FC fans finally got the lineup they’ve been waiting for: designated players Zaha and Liel Abada on the wings, Pep Biel as a center attacking midfielder, and Patrick Agyemang up top.
Though Zaha was initially questionable for Saturday’s match - he was in London for the birth of his daughter - Charlotte’s newest forward made it back for a Thursday afternoon training session and was fit to play the full 90. He scored Charlotte’s second goal of the day, and made an unofficial goal contribution to the first goal scored by Biel.
When Soccer Sheet asked Zaha if “dad energy” played a role in his performance, he replied, “Yeah, one hundred percent.”
“I do this for my family, I do this for my kids,” said Zaha at a post-match press gaggle. “And obviously, having my daughter just … I don’t know, I can’t explain it, it’s just a very good moment for me. I managed to witness that, so going into the game I was just happy and excited to get on with it.”
The victory was a welcome departure from Charlotte’s sloppy, rainy draw in Seattle last week. Still, Charlotte head coach Dean Smith wanted more out of his squad, and said his team was still far away from their potential.
“As I just said in the dressing room, it was a good performance but nothing more than that,” Smith told Soccer Sheet at a post-match press conference.
Charlotte and Atlanta “Cancel Each Other Out” in the First Half
For the first 20 minutes, play was relatively even as Charlotte had a slight edge in possession. Both sides had chances, though Atlanta United’s were arguably more dangerous; however, Charlotte’s back line rose to the challenge of Atlanta designated players Miguel Almirón and Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Latte Lath set an MLS record last month when he joined Atlanta United for a reported transfer fee of $22 million plus add-ons, while Zaha joined Charlotte on a loan deal with undisclosed terms.
Both Zaha and Latte Lath have made appearances for the Côte d'Ivoire national team, but Zaha told Soccer Sheet after the match that he just recently learned he shared a nationality with his opponent.
The new Atlanta United team also brought back Almirón for a second stint with the Five Stripes, which now has one of the most dangerous front lines in Major League Soccer. However, Charlotte defender and U.S. Men’s National Team captain Tim Ream looked significantly improved from Charlotte’s sloppy first match in Seattle, and right back Nathan Byrne stepped up with both critical clearances and creative crosses to supplement the characteristically great play from the Crown’s center back combo of Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett.
Suffice it to say, Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina had much less work to do than the week before, with two saves in the first half to none for Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan. Both goalkeepers would end the match with three saves apiece.
Charlotte’s attack ramped up after the 25th minute, challenging Atlanta inside their 18 yard box with crosses and strong runs, but the home team’s passes had trouble getting through traffic.
As the half came to a close, Atlanta gained momentum, forcing Charlotte captain Ashley Westwood to put his body on the line multiple times to block shots from the top of the box. The Crown got a scare in the 40th minute as Latte Lath got his clearest shot of the match yet, but sent it to the left of Charlotte’s goal.
The next five minutes were tense as Atlanta increased its advantage in shots, but the half ended with no stoppage time, perhaps saving Charlotte from a dangerous goal. Atlanta ended the half with ten shot attempts to two for Charlotte, and two shots on goal to none for the home side, though Charlotte had a 53% share of possession.
While Charlotte didn’t find the net in the first half, Smith appreciated their resilience to Atlanta’s challenge.
“I didn’t see it as a poor first half, I just thought we both cancelled each other out,” said Smith. “We had long spells of possession with the ball, they had long spells of possession with the ball, but nobody really opened anybody up.”
Charlotte’s Second Half Demonstrates Zaha’s Quality and Atlanta’s Vulnerabilities
In the first ten minutes of the first half, Charlotte’s offense would open up their account for the 2025 season.
Less than four minutes after kickoff, Zaha found the ball at the top of Atlanta’s penalty box, working his way through traffic in an effort to get a shot off. What came next was unclear: though Zaha told reporters after the match it was a shot that bounced off an Atlanta defender, his ball looked like a pass to an open Biel, who converted the opportunity into his first goal of the season.
“I’ll be honest, I’d gone to shoot,” said Zaha. “It was a weird one, but I can’t complain.”
Smith noted that Biel’s skill guided him to be in the right place at the right time.
“Pep’s an excellent player, he gets into really good pockets, he’s got really good balance, he receives the ball really well, he releases the ball really well, and he understands the game,” Smith told Soccer Sheet after the match. “You can see why he was where he was for the goal, he just sensed that’s where the ball would finish up.”
Biel missed much of Charlotte’s preseason with an injury, so Smith was encouraged by his performance and improving fitness.
“It was very good for me to get a bit of confidence,” Biel told reporters at a post-match press gaggle. “Now I’m good, I’m getting better day by day.”
Just minutes later, Byrne made a long clearance up the right side that reached Abada, who beat both of the defenders challenging him. He had a clear shot on goal that was saved by Guzan, but the rebound found Zaha near Atlanta’s penalty mark, who sent the ball to Guzan’s left for Charlotte’s second goal.
Zaha celebrated the goal by running to the corner flag and making a gesture with his hands on his ears, similar to the one former Charlotte designated player Karol Świderski used to make after goals.
The message was clear: Zaha’s here to be everything the fanbase wanted Świderski to be.
He’s already showing as much, if not more leadership than Świderski did. After the match, Zaha told reporters “he had a little go” at a few of his teammates at halftime, asking them to step up and play quicker, and by all accounts they did - a testament to the respect a star player can command in the locker room.
“I just thought we need to speed up what we’re doing,” said Zaha. “And once we did speed it up, I don’t think they could live with us in the second half.”
When asked to clarify what Zaha meant by “having a go,” he got a laugh by responding “constructive criticism, but shouting.”
After the pair of goals, there was no stopping Charlotte FC. They dominated Atlanta in offensive stats in the second half, with eight shots to six, and five shots on target to only one for Atlanta. Though Atlanta would possess the ball for 70% of the second half, they had no big chances in the last 45 minutes that would threaten Charlotte’s lead.
Smith, however, was skeptical that the second half was significantly better than the first.
“I wasn’t too disappointed with the performance in the first half, I just thought we needed to do a little bit more in the final third and play in their half a little bit more, be a little bit quicker on the ball,” said Smith. “The fact that you get the goals in the second half makes it a good second half.”
In Memoriam
The match featured two supporter-led memorials; in the first half fans honored the late Anton Walkes, who played for both Charlotte and Atlanta. Walkes died in a boating accident during Charlotte’s preseason in 2023.
Then in the second half, the club and the supporters section honored the late Heidi Underhill, a leader in the Southbound and Crown supporters group. Southbound called Underhill “the very heart and soul of SBC” when she passed in December; tragedy had originally brought her into Charlotte’s soccer community as a way to honor and remember her partner Brenton, who was shot and killed during a home invasion in 2020.
Up Next: Inter Messi
Next week, Charlotte FC travels to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF side at Chase Stadium. In January, Patrick Agyemang played his first match for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the stadium, scoring his first international goal as well. Charlotte goes into the match with a win and a draw, and the team currently sits in 3rd place on the Eastern Conference table with four points.
“Hopefully we’re gonna take three points from [Miami],” Bronico told Soccer Sheet after the match.
Charlotte faces Miami at 4:00 PM on Sunday, March 9 at Chase Stadium. Catch the match on MLS Season Pass from Apple TV+.