The Full Time Clip: Charlotte FC Lose Leagues Cup Opener at Philadelphia

July 27, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Charlotte FC News Release

First half goal results in a 1-0 loss; CLTFC still have a path to the knockout rounds with one group stage match remaining vs. Cruz Azul at home on Wednesday.

First Half

Lineup: Kahlina, Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Pedro, Westwood, Bronico, Bender, Vargas, Tavares, Agyemang

Saturday night’s match at Subaru Park, which kicked off Charlotte FC’s Leagues Cup campaign, got off to an… odd start. Referee Marco Nava from Liga MX issued a yellow card to Philadelphia’s Jose Martinez before the match even kicked off for a reason that wasn’t immediately clear.

However, while the pre-kickoff shenanigans were chaotic, the opening 25 minutes of the match were the opposite. Charlotte FC started the stronger of the two teams before Philadelphia grew into the match as the half progressed.

Both teams created chances through their left backs. Kai Wagner served an excellent cross in the 16th minute to Tai Baribo, but the Israeli forward jumped too early and looped his header well over the crossbar. Joao Pedro – getting a spot start in place of Jere Uronen – had a few good services, from both open play and a corner kick, but CLTFC couldn’t connect on them.

Charlotte’s best chance of this period came from Kerwin Vargas, who lasered the ball across the mouth of goal towards Iuri Tavares. The cross had a bit too much height, though, and flashed just over Tavares’ head.

Philadelphia then opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Andrew Privett got pulled out of position attempting to intercept a pass, and Daniel Gazdag broke into the box to reach the ball just before it crossed the endline, cutting it back to the six-yard box. Baribo was there waiting to pass it easily into the net for the 1-0 lead.

In the 39th minute, Union forward Samuel Adeniran (making his first start since arriving in a trade with St. Louis City) seemed to have a good chance to double the lead after receiving a clever pass to put him one-on-one with Kristijan Kahlina. He put his chip wide, but it wouldn’t have counted anyway with the offside flag up.

Still, momentum was certainly building for Philadelphia as the half closed. CLTFC looked disjointed going forward, but they remained disciplined to reach halftime down by only one goal with a chance to make adjustments in the locker room.

Second Half

Lineup: Kahlina, Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Pedro (80′), Westwood, Bronico, Bender (56′), Vargas (81′), Tavares (56′), Agyemang (81′)

Substitutions: Swiderski…