Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: A late goal from Zaha earns all three points for Charlotte, but his fifth yellow card of the season will cause him to miss the next game

By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee

Wilfried Zaha (Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90)

Charlotte FC took down the Philadelphia Union 2-1 at home for their second consecutive win, bringing their unbeaten streak to four. Ashley Westwood’s first goal of the season gave them a 1-0 lead in the first half, and a quick answer to Philadelphia’s goal in the second half helped Charlotte get all three points while the Union is still looking for their first points of the season. 

Here is our stock up, stock down from Charlotte’s win on Saturday.

Stock Up

Tim Ream - The veteran center back returned from USMNT duty with a steady performance on Charlotte’s backline. Ream was active on the ball, taking 99 touches and distributing the ball well. He went 78/81 on accurate passes, a 96% accuracy rate. On long balls, he had a 71% accuracy rate, going 5/7, and had six passes into the final third. The 38-year-old also had a sound defensive performance, blocking a shot and making nine clearances while winning four of his six duels and committing just one foul across 90 minutes. We should continue to see solid performances consistently from Ream as the center back pairing of himself and Morrison Agyemang continues to gel.

Wilfried Zaha - Charlotte’s number 10 starred against Philadelphia as he has now scored a goal in back-to-back games. He was a threat anytime he was on the ball, completing a dribble on three of his four attempts, going three for three on accurate long balls, having six touches in the opponent's box, creating a big chance, and scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute. The Ivorian international showed once again why he is a game-changer when he is on. But even with all the positives from the match, there is still a negative. Zaha was given a controversial yellow card in the 42nd minute, his fifth yellow card in just six games, meaning he will now miss the upcoming game against Nashville SC.

Team Resiliency - Charlotte FC has struggled in the past with holding onto leads and closing out games. It appeared that the match against Philadelphia was going to be more of the same as they conceded a 78th-minute goal on Philadelphia’s 12th shot of the half while Charlotte was yet to register a shot in that span. While fans may have been dejected and expecting Charlotte to drop points to the point-less Philadelphia Union, Pep Biel and Zaha had other plans. Shortly after the restart, Biel received a pass from Luca de la Torre with plenty of space on the right wing and carried the ball forward, eventually sending a cross in to Zaha, who finished at the far post on a volley to recapture the lead quickly.

It's the second time this season that this combination has earned points for Charlotte, as they connected for the team’s lone goal against St. Louis City in the opener to salvage a point. Having players like Biel and Zaha, who can will the team to a better result with brilliant play when things seem to be trending the wrong way late, is crucial for success across an entire season.

Stock Down

Game Control Across 90 Minutes - After a dominant first half that saw Charlotte take a 1-0 lead with 67% possession, 16 touches in the box, a pair of shots on target, and a big chance missed, they let Philadelphia take control coming out of the break. As mentioned earlier, the Union logged 12 shots, including their goal in the 78th minute, before Charlotte got their first shot of the half. The possession battle swung significantly in the second half, as Philadelphia held a slight majority at 53%. They were able to overcome their slow start to the second half with a late goal, but the momentum swing in favor of the Union at the start of the half is concerning. Charlotte doesn’t need to have complete control of the game from start to finish, but they need to be consistent across 90 minutes, something we’ve yet to see against a fully manned side this season.

Wing Depth Against Nashville - With Zaha receiving his fifth yellow card of the season, Charlotte will be without their DP and will likely be starting Kerwin Vargas and Liel Abada as the wing duo against Nashville SC. Tyger Smalls is the only other first-team winger to have made an appearance this season and has been an unused substitute in each of the last two games. Nimfasha Berchimas is the only other winger on the first-team roster to provide options other than Smalls. Nashville has a pair of midweek matches against Club América in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, sandwiching the game against Charlotte, which could mean they bring a heavily rotated side to the Queen City. If they bring their B team, then the lack of Zaha will hurt Charlotte a little bit less, but one of the remaining wingers will still need to step up.