Miguel Ramírez: "The most important thing is that until the end we are competing"

CHARLESTON – In a match of day and night halves, Charlotte FC fell short against Inter Miami but head coach Miguel Ramírez believed the final result didn't reflect the effort from his team.

"This is just my [first] impression, [the score] was not too fair. Their first goal was when were dominating every single action, we were controlling the game, and off one action through a rebound [they score]. Unlucky day for us, I believed we deserved more.

"We were missing delivering more balls inside the box. We had people inside the box, we need to deliver, and something will happen. The one ball we delivered we got a penalty."

Scoring opportunities were difficult to come by but MLS SuperDraft first overall pick, Ben Bender, was one of the bright spots in the attack. He was able to finally showcase his playmaking ability to fans and almost ended up scoring a goal in the second half.

"I was just at the back post, I took a touch and struck it bottom right and the keeper made a good save... I wish it went in," said Bender grinning. "But [I] just got to keep working hard to find those opportunities.

""It was so fun, just coming back from a little injury I had, it was really fun to be out there to fight with the guys. We've worked really hard this preseason, I think we have something going for us. We didn't get the results we wanted, but it's coming."

Ramírez's willingness to adapt and change up his tactics was in full display when opted to switch to a different formation against Miami.

"I'm not going to stick to only one formation, in the end I see this as a game where your opponent tells you where to defend and where to attack. It will always depend on the opponent what formation we use. I don't believe one formation can go up against all of them.

"D.C. [United] will be different, they play different. We need to analyze our next opponent and what are their behaviors and then we will define the formation, the players who can help this formation... every game will be different."

This was the Club's last preseason match before their inaugural season opener against D.C. United on February 26th. Ramírez reflected on the entirety of preseason and is happy with the strides the team has made in such a short amount of time.

"From the first day [of the Carolina Challenge Cup] I'm seeing better individual behaviors, they [the team] are doing better, they are understanding much better in terms of structure. For me the most important [thing] is structure, how they need to position themselves when attacking and defending. From now on, now that they have the basics, we will go more specific in the trainings, specific situations, what do in these situations. For the basics, positioning, and the structure I am happy they are understanding.

"But for me the most important [thing] is that until the end we are competing, this is the best for me, a team that doesn't lose their composure, that keeps fighting and competing until the end. If we do this, later we will keep improving in other terms."