Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte FC battles back from a 3-0 first half deficit to earn a point against Messi and Inter Miami
By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee
The Crown appeared to take an early lead in the final regular season match against Inter Miami. Still, Liel Abada’s goal was disallowed due to a handball in the build-up, and the first half went downhill from there, with Inter Miami scoring three goals before the halftime whistle blew. The second half was a different story, with Charlotte quickly getting a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of the half and a late equalizer to claw back a draw from what seemed like certain defeat.
Here’s our Stock Up, Stock Down for Charlotte FC’s come-from-behind Decision Day draw:
Stock Up
Momentum heading into the playoffs - Coming off of back-to-back 4-0 wins at home prior to the match, Charlotte FC had great momentum going into a game that could’ve seen them earn home-field advantage for Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs. After going down 3-0, it seemed like all that momentum was gone and they would enter the postseason on a low, but a huge second half to rally back to tie the game late regained some momentum that could be crucial for the Crown.
Resilience - The second-half comeback is the second time in the past month that Charlotte has come from behind and scored three goals after the break to get a positive result, the other being the 3-2 win over FC Dallas at home on October 10. The team, knowing that they have to win to have any chance to get home-field advantage in Round One, didn’t give up in the second half when everything seemed to be going against them. Having shown that it is not a fluke and that they are capable of flipping the script late in games, even without Maxi available, is huge for the team and their confidence going into the playoffs.
Tyger Smalls - Smalls came on as a halftime substitute for Idan Toklomati, who was dealing with an illness. Smalls made a quick impact, assisting the club’s first goal of the match, his second match in a row with an assist. His only shot of the match set up Rodolfo Aloko’s equalizer, hitting the left post and rebounding towards Aloko for his shot on goal. Smalls didn’t have many touches (11), but his impact while on the ball was big, going 1/2 on successful dribbles and going 3/4 on accurate passes. If he can be a competent contributor, then Charlotte may be able to confidently look his way in the playoffs when the starters get tired, or they need a spark off the bench.
Liel Abada - Charlotte needed a big game out of Liel Abada in Maxi’s absence during his red card suspension, and that is exactly what they got. He scored a brace for his second multi-goal match of the season, both coming in the last three matches of the season. He didn’t create any chances himself and only took two shots, but his two shots turned into two goals that couldn’t have come at a better time. For his first goal, he got on the end of a pass from Smalls right in front of the goal, but his second goal was a strike from the edge of the box that beat the keeper to the post. Abada was also safe with the ball on his touches, going 20/23 on accurate passes and not being dispossessed at all. Between Abada and Aloko, Charlotte is in a good spot for the right wing position in the playoffs.
Stock Down
Luca de la Torre - de la Torre was tasked with starting out of position at right wing against Inter Miami, and it didn’t go well. He committed the error that led to their first goal, had zero touches in the opposition box, took just one shot, and was dispossessed twice before coming off in the 83rd minute. It was a poor end to the season for what has been an all-around underwhelming season for de la Torre, who was supposed to be Charlotte’s marquee signing for this season.
Set piece defending - Charlotte FC faced six corners in the match and allowed two goals on those six corners, with those two goals being easily given up. The first was a ball that wasn’t cleared out by de la Torre and was given directly to Ian Fray for an easy goal in the 14th minute. On the second goal, they also left two Inter Miami players unmarked at the front post for a flick on to Luis Suarez at the back post for a tap-in goal. Those are goals that a team can’t be making if they are wanting to be serious contenders. Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina stood no chance on either of the goals. The set-piece defending, especially on corner kicks, needs to be an area of focus for the team to clean up during the break before Round One.
