The last time Charlotte FC fans experienced a win at home was October of last year in the 4-0 thrashing of the Philadelphia Union. The Crown didn’t score quite as many goals in their win against the Columbus Crew but the significance of the win shared parallels to that Philadelphia match.
Charlotte came in as heavy underdogs in the eyes of many against an inspired Columbus side who boast the second highest scoring offense in all of MLS. Up to this point, Charlotte had yet to keep a clean sheet, so it should have been a field day for the visitors, right? Wrong.
Reminiscent of the Union match, the Crown made it known right off the bat that they weren’t just going to fall over. In the end, CLTFC and the fans earned a deserved win after one of the most complete performances of the season.
“The feeling is great, I know how much they [the players] work,” said Head Coach Christian Lattanzio post-match. “It was great seeing them getting the reward and to give the fans a good time. This is always our aim. To get this place going because we know how much the supporters mean to us and how much they can give to the team.
“In order to do that though, we have to fuel this energy. The feeling is great. I thought what we did well today was to do the simple things well. We need to keep doing the simple things well, defensively and offensively, and then we can go far.”
There were a lot of positives against the Crew such as the confidence the team played with, the defensive structure of the team, but one of the ones that stood out to Lattanzio was the improved connection between DPs Enzo Copetti and Karol Świderski.
“I’ve seen them play the best game so far together. I’ve seen Karol. I’ve seen Enzo play well but playing well together which means defensively we ask them to do different work in the second half which they did, and also look for each other, creating chances for each other. This is also why I think our team is growing.”
Since coming back from the international break, Świderski has been infused with confidence which has led to two goals and assisting another through three matches. One of those goals was the stunning first time strike that ended up being the game winner against the Crew.
I was also surprised after this shot,” chuckled Świderski.
“I’m happy because it was an important goal and three important points for us.
Both Lattanzio and Świderski mentioned that this was the most fluid they’ve seen the front four in the attack and a performance they need to continue to build off of with positive results. In the eyes of the coach, this is a team that is just scratching the surface of their potential and far from the final product. So, the work continues.
“I see a team that is growing. I see a team that when we have to play, we play, and when we have to defend, we defend. I’m very proud of these guys, I back them up, and I want to focus 100% to improve this team. That is my aim. Nothing else.”
