Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Bronico dubbed a warrior by Smith, Marshall-Rutty shines in debut, and Ream looked off the pace

By Sam Vanolinda

Brandt Bronico (Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/Topbin90)

Charlotte FC headed to Ohio on Saturday, looking to avoid losing two straight games for the first time this season against the East leaders, the Columbus Crew. 

Unfortunately for the Crown, the defense did not come to play in the Arch City. They allowed four goals, and the team lost 2-4, dropping Charlotte to fifth in the East.

On Saturday, the weaknesses that need to be addressed were exposed. Charlotte relies too heavily on Pep Biel for creativity on the attacking end, and has relied too heavily on Kristijan Kahlina to bail them out on the defensive end. 

Biel was out, and Kahlina had an off-game; when that happens, Charlotte FC does not look like a contending team.

My Editor, Brian Maurer, addressed this issue in the tweet above. The xGA (expected goals allowed)  this year is far higher than in 2024 at this point in the season. The defense has allowed more quality chances than the results have shown, a lot of that due to Kahlina’s heroics.

A team can't expect to make a deep playoff run when allowing the opponent to get shots on target like the Crown has this year.

Here’s the stock up/ down for Saturday’s game:

Stock Up

Brandt Bronico

Dean Smith was adamant with praise for Brandt Bronico post-match, calling him a warrior and “our best player today.”

The fan-favorite had a tough assignment to replace MVP candidate Biel. While Bronico isn’t going to replace Biel's creative talent, he always plays with heart and intensity.

Offensively, Bronico was solid, but he shines with his ability to retain possession and do the dirty work for the team.

Bronico had one tackle, two interceptions, nine recoveries, two duels won, three passes into the final third, and a penalty won.

When the team went down 0-2, Bronico was smart enough to get onto the end of a ball into the box and draw the contact, allowing Charlotte FC to get back into the game.

While his efforts didn’t result in victory, Bronico was a bright spot.

Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty

Joining the team recently on loan from Montreal, Marshall-Rutty made his debut Saturday, coming in at the right back position in the 61st minute.

It shows Smith's faith in the youngster, bringing him in against a team like Columbus. 

The 20-year-old Canadian looked lively in his cameo. He is another good option on the right side of the field.

While I think Nick Scardina will continue to play during Nathan Byrne’s injury, Marshall-Rutty has the chance to prove himself when he is brought in.

Stock Down

Tim Ream

Tim Ream has worked numerous times this season as a left back, but he has also been exposed at times. He is a natural center back and can struggle to keep up with wingers.

Today, his play was slow and uncharacteristically unfundamental, directly leading to two goals. 

Ream works because of his passing ability when the team is in possession, but when the team is being dominated, he gets exposed for his lack of pace. 

For Columbus’ third goal, Ream cleared a ball directly into Mohamed Farsi's feet, who set up Aziel Jackson for a goal that took Charlotte out of the game.

For the fourth goal, Ream did not nearly have enough effort tracking the diagonal run of Jacen Russell-Rowe, who easily got to the inside of Ream and calmly headed the ball into the back of the net. 

These are two uncharacteristic mistakes for such a seasoned player, but having him play left back and try to mark young, youthful, explosive wingers, it makes sense why he would be tired and lose concentration sometimes.

It makes me wonder why Charlotte FC did not try harder to retain Jere Uronen, who was a great left-back for the club. 

Djibril Diani

On Saturday, Diani had a chance to show why he deserves to be a weekly starter for Charlotte, but struggled considerably in the game. 

At times in his Charlotte tenure, Diani has looked like a driving force in the midfield, but he also disappears in games and offers little to nothing on both sides of the field.

Only 14 passes in 61 minutes, 29 touches, zero chances created, and one pass into the final third. Diani just did not show up in Columbus. 

Defensively, he also struggled to mark the opposition and was consistently a step behind the action.

Ashley Westwood, Bronico, and Biel are Charlotte FC's ideal midfield three. The team needs to focus on preserving their health, as they are crucial for winning games.

Kristijan Kahlina

While Kahlina did have seven saves on Saturday, he had a shaky game in the net that was very uncharacteristic.

Nobody is perfect, and while Kahlina has been close to that since he started with Charlotte FC, he was due to make a couple of net mistakes in one game. 

For the first Columbus Crew goal, Kahlina botched a pass straight to the opponents, then spilled a shot directly into the path of Dylan Chambost, who finished easily. 

Yes, Kahlina was poor at that moment, but it's hard to put all the blame on a keeper who is expected to deal with so much pressure game after game.

Smith’s style of play demands a keeper who is ready for traffic. If you consistently allow shots on target, eventually even the Goalkeeper of the Year will make a mistake.