Ashley Westwood led the way in the 3-1 victory over the league leaders with a hat trick of primary assists to Iuri Tavares, Liel Abada, and Kerwin Vargas
First Half
Lineup: Kahlina, Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Uronen, Westwood, Diani, Bronico, Abada, Vargas, Tavares
Charlotte FC got off to a flying start on Saturday night in Cincinnati. They blitzed the current league-leaders over the opening half hour, scoring two and nearly adding one or two more.
After a strong start that saw CLTFC keep a greater majority of the possession, Iuri Tavares opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Tavares, who was replacing the suspended Patrick Agyemang up top, drifted off the shoulder of the left back. The ball was dropped back to Ashley Westwood, who served a looping one-time cross to the back post where Tavares met it with a side-footed volley into the back of the net.
Westwood picked up his second primary assist of the match just two minutes later. Brandt Bronico pressed Cincinnati into a turnover high up the field, and Westwood slotted a perfectly weighted pass into the box for Liel Abada on a hard diagonal run. Abada, who is headed to the Olympics with Israel later this month, took a good first touch and immediately lashed the ball into the top corner to double the lead.
Nathan Byrne nearly made it three in the 27th minute. He drove forward into midfield, slicing through the lines of Cincinnati’s defense and lacing a right-footed shot on goal. Roman Celentano got an impressive touch on the ball with an outstretched right hand, pushing it just off the outside of the post.
From there, though, FC Cincinnati found a foothold in the match. Miles Robinson went close from a corner, but Byrne and Adilson Malanda did enough to put him off. Luca Orellano also saw a shot go agonizingly wide after he drove across the top of the box and curled one just past the far upper corner.
At the beginning of seven minutes of stoppage time (added on after Malanda had a scary collision with Kahlina early on), defending MLS MVP and current MVP frontrunner Luciano Acosta pulled a goal back in typically spectacular fashion. Orellano drove inside the box and slipped a good pass to the underlapping Acosta, who curled it one-time over Kahlina and into the far side netting.
After that, CLTFC was under siege for the rest of the half. However, they defended well, cleared their lines effectively, and Kahlina held onto a save when necessary to survive to halftime holding a 2-1 lead.
Second Half
Lineup: Kahlina, Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Uronen, Westwood, Diani, Bronico, Abada, Vargas, Tavares
Substitutions: Dejaegere (60’), Bender (60’), Smalls (81’), Scardina (90’)
Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan opened the second half with two substitutions: midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela for center back Alvas Powell and a straight swap up top with Sergio Santos for Kevin Kelsy.
Things (seemed to) get worse for Charlotte FC pretty much straight away. In the 48th minute, Valenzuela put a shot on goal that hit Malanda’s hand. It was a pretty harsh penalty to give, as his elbow was tucked into his side, but it stood up.
However, Kahlina came up with a massive save on Acosta’s ensuing penalty, diving to his left to parry strongly away.
Then… things (seemed to) get worse yet again just a minute later. Orellano scored an incredible goal from the right side, where he cut inside the box on his left foot and rifled the ball into the near post top corner.
However… after a very quick VAR review, it was clear that Yamil Asad was a few yards offside in the buildup, and the goal was chalked off. And so, after a crazy opening 10 minutes of the second half, Charlotte FC maintained their 2-1 lead at TQL Stadium.
The Crown then had two good chances going the other way. On a counter attack, Abada elected to cut in on his left foot, but couldn’t get a clean shot away at first, and his second attempt was easily saved by Celentano. On the second chance, Djibril Diani’s strike flashed into the outside of the side netting.
Sandwiched between those two chances, Yuya Kubo put a shot on goal for Cincinnati. His volley from a corner was cleared from the line by Malanda and eventually gathered by Kahlina. In the action of heading it away, the ball did roll down Malanda’s body and made contact with his arm, but no on-field review was recommended after a short pause in play.
Right at the 60th minute, CLTFC Head Coach Dean Smith made two fairly aggressive changes. Brecht Dejaegere replaced Diani, who was on a yellow card, and Ben Bender replaced Iuri Tavares up top.
Then, in the 66th minute, Charlotte scored the most important goal of the match. From an Ashley Westwood corner (to complete his hat trick of primary assists), Kerwin Vargas wrestled past his defender and powered a header on goal. Pavel Bucha nearly cleared it off the line, but it ultimately trickled in to restore CLTFC’s two-goal cushion.
Things (actually) got better for The Crown six minutes later. Ben Bender smashed a hopeful ball in behind, and Vargas capitalized by sprinting in behind the high defensive line. Miles Robinson scrambled back and took Vargas down from behind, earning a second yellow card and getting sent off.
Then… things (seemed to, again) get better for Charlotte from the resulting free kick. Andrew Privett scored an excellent header, and Westwood grabbed his fourth (fourth!) primary assist of the match. However, upon a VAR review, the goal became the second one chalked off on the day, one for each side.
The second half of this match never gave room to breathe. In the 79th minute, Cincinnati left back Bret Halsey twisted past Byrne to get a half yard of separation. When Byrne lunged to block the cross, it took a wicked deflection and cannoned straight off the near post.
With a few minutes left in regulation, Tyger Smalls subbed on in place of an exhausted Kerwin Vargas to inject some pace and energy as CLTFC closed the match out. Nick Scardina also received a reward for his good performances for Crown Legacy, making his first team debut when he replaced Abada in stoppage time.
Kahlina made a key save just before those nine minutes of stoppage time began, athletically palming Santos’ volley over the bar to keep his side comfortably in the lead late on.
Ultimately, FC Cincinnati was hamstrung by Robinson’s red card and was unable to create any clear-cut chances over the final minutes of the game. Charlotte closed the match out comfortably, achieving a statement victory over a Cincinnati team who had won 12 of their last 14 matches to sit at the top of the Supporter’s Shield standings.
