Chicago Fire Hands Charlotte FC Fifth Straight Loss
Dean Smith has more to say at a Monday press conference after Charlotte's 1-4 home loss to Chicago. Is the poor form the culmination of injuries and defensive woes, or worse?
Yikes.
There’s no sugarcoating Saturday night’s performance from Charlotte FC. The Crown was beaten 1-4 at at Bank of America Stadium by a surging Chicago Fire side.
From the first whistle, Charlotte looked out of sorts. With defender Nathan Byrne out for a seventh straight match, and new defensive addition Souleyman Doumbia still in recovery, Charlotte FC was able to hold on for the first thirty minutes.
By the fortieth minute, however, things started to fall apart.
Charlotte FC vs. Chicago Fire FC
Saturday, May 17
7:30 PM EDT
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Final Score: 1-4
Charlotte FC Goals
Patrick Agyemang 70’ (Assist: Williamson)
Chicago Fire FC Goals
Jonathan Bamba 42’ Assist: (Gutiérrez)
Brian Gutiérrez 60’
Philip Zinckernagel 63’ (Assist: Gutman)
Brian Gutiérrez 79’ (Penalty)
Soccer Sheet’s Players of the Match
Brian Gutiérrez (Chicago)
Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte)
In the 42nd minute, Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba exploited a defensive lapse and walked into the box untouched to open the scoring off of a Brian Gutiérrez assist.
It only got uglier from there as Gutiérrez went on to earn a brace and a total of three goal contributions, including a 60th minute strike that Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith considered the nail in the coffin.
“I thought the first goal changed the game, [then] the second goal killed the game,” Smith said at a Monday press conference.
The fans—nearly 30,000 of them—watched in disbelief as Charlotte defenders seemed disconnected. You could see the frustration on the Charlotte players’ faces from the press box.
At the post match press conference, Smith called out the team’s “stupid goals” and admitted they “probably were too slow” all night.
Additionally, the Fire’s Jonathan Dean shut down Charlotte Designated Player Wilfried Zaha, who was unable to create plays, and whose single shot carried an xG (Expected Goals) of .04.
“[Wilfried Zaha] hasn't been exceptional since he's come [to Charlotte],” Smith told reporters on Monday. “He's been okay, and he can get better.”
The lone bright spot for Charlotte? Patrick Agyemang’s goal, which came after Chicago had already run up a 3-0 lead . The goal came from a tidy finish off of an assist from offseason addition Eryk Williamson.
Smith gave Agyemang some credit post-match, though given the score line the goal felt more like a footnote than a turning point. This marked Big Pat’s third goal of the regular season, and the first goal contribution for Williamson.
At a post-match press gaggle, defender Tim Ream stated, “Nothing is clicking at the minute with the ball, without the ball. [There’s] not enough aggression everywhere really. Front to back, back to front.”
Maybe it’s because Charlotte had three matches in a weeks time or maybe it’s because Nathan Byrne is still injured but Charlotte has tumbled from first to eighth in the Eastern Conference. The defense looks lost, the attack is isolated, and injuries aren’t helping.
Smith says it’s time to “get back to basics,” but the clock is ticking. This season’s promise is slipping away fast.
Smith, for his part, doesn’t think it’s time to “break glass” and change course.
“If you break glass and change everything you’re doing, then you’re wrong at the start,” said Smith. “This is what I said to the players today: we’re no different in terms of players, and management, and how we approach things than four weeks ago. And while we take the plaudits four weeks ago, you have to take the criticism four weeks later when you haven’t got results for five MLS games.”
“What we’ve lost is two fullbacks,” Smith said in summary.
Here’s to hoping that a U.S. Open Cup win at Audi Field, or May 24th’s Pride Night at the Bank can bring about renewed energy for a squad that is ready to find an invincible summer after a spring season of setbacks.
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