CHARLOTTE – Charlotte FC’s win against F.C Cincinnati had some more 'firsts' for the Club. First-ever back-to-back to wins and the first-ever clean sheet for the team and head coach, Miguel Ramírez.
“In Spain they were playing a youth tournament, and it was funny because one boy said the coach told them that if they get a clean sheet, the federation will give us one point. And it’s true, if you have a clean sheet, you will get at least one point from the match.
“I believe in the game there are sequences of good and bad luck... but they had chances to score, and today they couldn’t, to be fair. But of course, we keep working on how to be more efficient in the defending and concede fewer goals. In preseason, we spent so many training sessions on the attacking organization, but now that they have the tools we can work more on the defensive organization.”
But it was the team’s intelligence in offensive transitions that Ramírez was most pleased about and further demonstrated the team’s continued growth with every week.
“I think the thing that pleased me the most from this game was our offensive transitions. We were smarter and more patient in our transitions, instead of rushing as we did sometimes before.”
“You could see throughout the match that whenever we won the ball and started our offensive transitions, the player with the ball would always look up to see if he had enough teammates around him to continue the push the ball forward. That’s what really stood out to me this game from us.”
“And I feel like I’m improving as a coach, and I think that all these matches have only helped me grow. This is a long journey, this is only my third stint as a head coach. I’m practically still in diapers when it comes to a coaching career. My players have also taught me a lot, they’ve been important in my growth as a coach.”
From the very start, Ramírez has echoed just how the fans’ support will be in their journey as an MLS expansion team. It’s now two back-to-back home wins for the Crown and Ramírez credits fans for having a direct impact on their results.
“I just want to say thank you to fans who have been with us from the very start. I don’t know if they really realize, but on the pitch, we can really feel them. When we are running out of gas or struggling on the pitch, it’s the fans who give us life.”
“Whether we win or lose, I hope that fans feel represented by us. That they see a team that represents them well. That it represents the Carolinas, Latinos, and Americans.”
