Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte FC earns a point after an explosive start to the second half

By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee

Morrison (Photo courtesy of Cisco's Art/TopBin90)

A poor first half against Cincinnati had the game in doubt, but Charlotte came out of the break on fire, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half to tie the game at 2-2 and get a point out of what seemed like a lost cause.

Here’s a look at our stock up, stock down for Charlotte FC’s draw against FC Cincinnati:

Stock Up

Holding Midfielders - After going through a rough stretch where the starting midfielder next to Ashley Westwood kept rotating week after week, Djibril Diani looks to have claimed the spot. Westwood remains a steady presence in the midfield, which is the engine for the team. Diani performed well against New England, with all 43 of his passes being accurate, having four tackles, three clearances, an interception, and assisting Pep Biel’s equalizer. With consistent play in the midfield, Charlotte should be able to return to form more easily, not having to adjust to a new starter every week.

Pep Biel - Biel showed why he is the club’s best player on Saturday, being one of the main reasons why the attack had life in the game. He was more involved in the game with 60 touches, 10 of them in the opponent’s box. He turned those touches into four chances created, one of them being a big chance, a 95% accurate pass rate on 41 attempts, was only dispossessed once, and scored the second goal to tie the game. With the goal, he broke his own record for the fastest Charlotte FC player to reach 10 goal contributions in a single season, doing so in 12 appearances.

Center backs - Tim Ream returned to the lineup after missing a few games with an injury, slotting back in next to Morrison. Both center halves performed well, with Ream not being dribbled past a single time and assisting the first goal, while Morrison made a crucial block to keep the score even to hold on for the draw. The duo's return will provide stability to Charlotte’s back line, which was beginning to thin with Harry Toffolo out with an injury and Henry Kessler remaining out as well.

Stock Down

Wingers - Charlotte FC’s wingers have had a bad run of form over the past few games, contributing one assist total since the New York City FC game. With Wilfried Zaha’s contract expiring soon and no news of him signing a new deal in sight, his time with the club appears to be ending, with just three more matches left before the World Cup break. With the lack of output and the seemingly impending departure of Zaha, Charlotte is in a bad spot with their wingers.

With the upcoming match being against NYCFC, the last team a Charlotte winger scored against, there could be an opportunity for a bounce-back for the group, having already contributed to a goal in a win against them a few weeks prior. The summer transfer window will also be an opportunity to improve on the wings if the lack of output continues through the next three games and a DP spot (or two) opens up.

Taking Leads - Charlotte FC is undefeated this season after taking a lead at any point. While this is a good thing, the problem is that the team has not had a lead in any game since the win over NYCFC, making their current run five consecutive matches without being ahead. When both teams are playing at full strength, and the game is tied, Charlotte has a -4 goal differential, scoring just four goals from tie game situations, while allowing eight.

They need to find a way to not just score goals, but score goals before their opponents. Three home games, then an extended break for the World Cup, should allow them to figure out how to prevent this from continuing further into the season as they try to get back on track to aim for a top-four finish.