June 19, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Charlotte FC News Release
On Wednesday night in North Carolina, Charlotte FC and Orlando City SC wasted no time in getting the chances flowing inside the first five minutes.
First, Liel Abada burst through with pace and tried to fire the ball low across the goal. Patrick Agyemang couldn’t get a touch on it despite lunging at full stretch. On the other end, Duncan McGuire had a huge chance for Orlando after an Ashley Westwood turnover but fired his chance well wide of the near post.
Charlotte FC struck first through Kerwin Vargas, who scored in his second consecutive match after netting last Saturday’s match-winner. Abada was once again pivotal, playing a smart one-two with Scott Arfield before taking a big touch in behind and sprinting past his defender. He cut it back inside the box, and Orlando misplayed the clearance, allowing Vargas to easily pass the ball into the back of the net.
Jere Uronen nearly doubled the lead for CLTFC a few minutes later, smashing an impressive long-range strike off the crossbar with his weaker right foot. Arfield also had a chance to shoot on goal after Abada squared a pass to him on top of the box, but his effort was saved.
Going the other way, Orlando was getting into good areas and creating a few more moments of danger than Charlotte typically concedes. Kahlina was forced into a save in the 19th minute on a Facundo Torres header and later did well to hold a deflected Nico Lodeiro shot.
The match completely changed in the 35th minute when Arfield earned a straight red card, reducing CLTFC to ten men for the remainder of the game. Initially, referee Allen Chapman gave a yellow card, but a video review confirmed that Arfield caught Felipe Martins with his studs from behind, and the decision was escalated to red. Martins was forced to sub off a few minutes later.
From there, The Crown committed to defending deep and hitting on the counter with the pace of their front three. Westwood and Djibril Diani continued playing as a midfield pivot, just with less support in front of them with the absence of Arfield.
Things seemingly got worse in stoppage time when Adilson Malanda took Luis Muriel’s shot to the side of the head. CLTFC athletic trainers rushed onto the field to treat the Frenchman. He left the field under his own power, and the team rode out the final minute of the half with nine men to retain their 1-0 advantage going into halftime.
Second Half
Lineup: Kahlina, Byrne,…
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