After the Charlotte Independence (15-5-4, 49 Points, +22 GD) earned a last minute, 3-2 victory against 13th place Portland Hearts of Pine (5-11-8, 23 Points) on Wednesday, September 2, one can be forgiven for thinking the Jacks would replicate the feat on the road in Omaha last night.
Almost everything was there — the fight, the pressure, and the skill — for the Jacks to steal another three points in the closing minutes of their 0-2 loss to Union Omaha (15-6-4, 49 Points, +16 GD).
What was missing, however, was an 11th player. Independence forward Souaibou Marou had been sent off in the first half, disrupting Charlotte’s game plan and making them fight for survival on the road.
Despite a valiant effort, the Owls snapped a 7-match unbeaten streak for the Jacks — though the Independence still sit atop the table thanks to a superior tiebreaker over Omaha.
Jeffries Named Coach of the Month
In both matches, the Independence demonstrated the resilience and fight that led to head coach Mike Jeffries being named USL League One Coach of the Month for August earlier today.
Jeffries led the club to a 4-0-1 record in August, helping the Jacks claim first place in League One. The Independence return to American Legion Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 12, to face Westchester SC. Kickoff is set for 7 PM ET, and tickets are available here.
Charlotte 3, Portland 2
Charlotte’s comeback against Portland Hearts of Pine can be summed up in two words: Stéfano Pinho. The forward scored twice in two minutes during stoppage time for the equalizer and the go-ahead goal.
”I’ve talked about the group’s character all year, but just the character — they keep pushing, they keep fighting,” said Independence head coach Mike Jeffries. “You know, it’s obviously nice to be at home, and then to get two goals at the death in stoppage time is unbelievable.”
Jon Bakero got things started early with a 20th minute goal assisted by Independence Captain Clay Dimick in his 200th appearance for the Jacks.
For the rest of the first half, Charlotte seemed in control. The stats also favored the Jacks over the course of the match, with 17 total shots to 9 for the Hearts, 14 shots inside the box to 5 for Portland, and 9 shots on target to 4 for the visitors.
However, a six-minute stretch in the second half changed the game.
First, Matteo Kidd scored for the Hearts in the 59th minute. Then, in the 65th, Charlotte goalkeeper Matt Levy gave up a penalty in the box during a chaotic play. Charlotte’s defense let Portland’s Diego Gonzalez slip through and take a shot that was saved by Levy. While Levy was still on the ground after the save, he challenged Portland’s Ollie Wright for the ball near the right edge of the goal box. Instead of retrieving the ball, Levy’s glove tripped Wright and the official immediately pointed to the spot.
Wright took the penalty he earned and shot the ball on the ground to the right. Levy guessed correctly and saved the ball, but it bounced out of his possession, allowing Portland captain Michel Poon-Angeron to net an easy rebound goal, his first of the season.
The Jacks responded by increasing the pressure on Portland. After Poon-Angeron’s goal, Independence coach Mike Jeffries made a triple change that included Pinho and Javen Ramero. Pinho and Charlotte forward Souaibou Marou took multiple shots in the run-up to stoppage time, but couldn’t get a ball in.
Then, in the 5th minute of stoppage, Charlotte took the ball up the left side and found Ramero in the corner. Ramero sent a great cross into the area, and Pinho pulled off a spinning half bicycle kick to get past Portland goalkeeper Hunter Morse.
“I was waiting for this moment,” said Pinho. “I was trying so hard to get my goal, so today was a gift from God. Nothing is finished yet.”
Just two minutes later, Bakero found Pinho in the area with a long cross straight to the boot, and with a much less acrobatic kick Pinho completed his brace.
”The first goal is a ridiculous finish, right? Pinho, we see that in training, but that’s just a great finish. Javen did ridiculously well to get to the ball and keep it in. And then just to pull off and hit a finish like that is incredible,” said Jeffries. “And then on the second one — again, we felt like, ‘Hey, we’ve got them. Let’s keep pushing.’ And to get the second one was, you know, obviously just a striker — right spot, right time.”
Omaha 2, Charlotte 0
It was a bad foul, but was it a red card?
That’s the question Independence coaching staff and supporters will be asking themselves over the next week as they assess their team’s loss to second place Union Omaha on Saturday night.
In the replay, the Independence cross a ball into the area. Marou is running to catch the high ball, and his leg goes up. Omaha goalkeeper Cole Jensen is coming off his line to challenge. Marou’s left leg is stretched out like a martial arts kick, and his boot and studs go straight into Jensen’s torso.
Omaha players come over to challenge Marou as the Omaha fans boo, loudly. The referee, Amin Hadzic, breaks it up, and shows Marou the yellow. Then, the replay goes up on the stadium video board, and Hadzic consults with an assistant referee.
Hadzic then walks back over to Marou to show him red.
“Obviously, the game turns on the red-card decision,” said Jeffries. “I thought the refereeing crew handled that decision remarkably poorly … I think that was a pretty big frustration for us as we went through the game.”
In response to a question from Soccer Sheet, Jeffries noted what he saw as a process error in how the red card was handled.
“This is a referee decision. He’s very close to the play. He makes the decision to give the yellow card right away,” said Jeffries. “The stadium puts up a replay immediately after that. So, the replay is on the board, yellow card has already been shown to Souaibou. Forget about whether it’s a red card or not … the [assistant referee] calls the referee - after the replay - the AR calls the referee over, and then he issues the red card … the replay should not have been up immediately after.”
Though Charlotte gave a gutsy performance, it was downhill from the red card. The 10-man Jacks conceded in the closing minutes of the first half. Then, after a concerted effort in the second stoppage time, the Jacks conceded a second goal, and that was all she wrote.
Is It too Early to Talk Playoffs?
Charlotte’s next test is back home at American Legion Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 12 against 14th place Westchester SC (6-13-5, 23 Points).
With only 8 matches left to play, the math is in Charlotte’s favor to make the playoffs. They are guaranteed a spot if they win two more matches (regardless of other results).
In the hunt for the regular season championship, the Independence have more work to do. While the Jacks are the only team averaging over 2 points per match, they play five of their final eight matches on the road.
In the “good news” column, the Jacks only face two more opponents currently above the playoff line: 5th place Boise and 8th place Fort Wayne.
While nothing is certain, and the Jacks still have a shield and home field advantage to play for, expect to see the Independence in the playoffs this fall.