July 3, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Charlotte FC News Release
With captain Ashley Westwood back in the lineup after sitting out due to yellow card accumulation suspension last week, Charlotte FC opened the match comfortably dominating possession in front of 47,218 fans at Bank of America Stadium.
The first big chance came in the 15th minute from a well-worked short corner. Jere Uronen served a cross to the back post, where Adilson Malanda headed it back across goal. Unfortunately, all the CLTFC players in the box overran it, and Miami cleared.
Liel Abada started brightly, continuing to affect games as he has over the last month with his speed and direct play on the right wing. In the 21st minute, he spun Inter Miami center back Sergii Kryvtsov and sped away into the attacking half. The Ukrainian defender had to scythe him down on the second attempt and received a yellow card.
On the other wing, Kerwin Vargas nearly opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Westwood clipped in a pass beyond the Miami back line, but Vargas couldn’t get a foot on it at an awkward angle, and the ball bounced just past the far post.
CLTFC continued to pile on the pressure. This time, it was Patrick Agyemang’s turn to come close to the opening goal. Vargas put him through in behind, and he brilliantly cut it back inside on Kryvtsov to open up an angle to shoot on his right foot. Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, though, made a strong save to keep the game scoreless.
Unfortunately, despite Charlotte’s dominance over the opening half hour, Miami scored the first goal in the 30th minute. After a good switch of play, Jordi Alba received a pass on the overlap. He cut it back to find a wide-open Robert Taylor at the six-yard box for a simple finish.
The Crown got right back to work in search of an equalizer just a few minutes later. Agyemang had two bites of the apple in a chaotically unlucky sequence. Bronico stripped a Miami player of the ball right on top of the box, and Agyemang smashed his long-range effort past a beaten Callender and right off the inside of the post. He got the ball back inside the box, chopped it onto his left foot, and his blocked shot looped up and over the crossbar.
Finally, in the 41st minute, Agyemang got his reward and bullied his way to a great goal. From a Uronen throw-in, the striker won a shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Tomas Aviles and took two long touches to sprint past the rest of the defense, seemingly covering the entire half of the…
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