Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte FC surges late to win their second Leagues Cup match

By Billy McGee (@iambillymcgee)

Pep Biel, Rodolfo Aloko and Ashley Westwood during Leagues Cup (Photo courtesy of Francisco Diaz/TopBin90)

After a big 3-0 against Pumas in their first Leagues Cup game, Charlotte FC followed that up with a 2-0 win against Atlas on Friday night. They were able to overcome a slow first half with two late goals from substitute wingers. This win puts them in a good position to be able to advance with one game remaining in the group stage.

Here’s our stock up, stock down for Charlotte FC’s Leagues Cup win over Atlas:

Stock Up

Liel Abada - Abada came on as a halftime sub for Brandt Bronico and was a clear difference-maker in the match. Abada recorded a goal and an assist in the second half, went 10/11 on accurate passes, 1/1 on successful dribbles, created a big chance and forced the Atlas keeper to make a save in a one-on-one situation. He has put together several good outings since returning from the break, if he can continue to stack these performances then he could be an impactful player for Charlotte FC in their Leagues Cup run and playoff push.

Tyger Smalls - Smalls impressed for the second consecutive game in the Leagues Cup, coming on as a 59th minute substitution. Like Abada, he recorded a goal and an assist and had just one inaccurate pass. He came on and looked creative quickly, taking defenders on and bringing the energy Charlotte needed off the bench. Through just two Leagues Cup games he is now up to three goal contributions, if he can keep his confidence from one game to another then he could also make a difference off the bench down the stretch this season.

Tyler Miller - For the second straight game, Tyler Miller looked like a first choice caliber goalkeeper in MLS. He had to make fewer saves against Atlas than against Pumas, but his performance was just as impressive, if not more. Of his four saves he made, two of them were diving saves and three of them were in the box. Miller was also outstanding with his distribution in this match, going 7/9 on accurate long balls and 25/27 on total accurate passes. Piecing together back-to-back stellar performances in goal further reinforces the belief that Charlotte will be fine when he is called upon to play in place of Kristijan Kahlina. These performances could also push Kahlina to perform better, as we have seen him rise up when other goalkeepers are brought in and have good games as his backup.

Stock Down

Pep Biel - Biel started the game on the wing and was moved central in the second half when Abada was subbed on. His game was better than the last one, but was not up to his usual standard, going 21/27 on accurate passes, 0/3 on dribbles and 1/5 on accurate crosses. He did have some bright spots, going 4/5 on accurate long balls and creating two chances, including a big chance. While his overall game was not poor, the reason he is here on stock down is what happened after the game. After the final whistle blew he was shown a red card for a comment made towards a referee, meaning he will miss the final match of the group stage. His absence will be a huge hole that Charlotte will have to fill. Yet, with Abada and Smalls' quality performances in the Leagues Cup, Smith might have new found depth that could help them towards a third straight win and possibly advance to the knockout stage.

Rodolfo Aloko - Aloko started on the left wing opposite of Pep Biel and played 59 minutes before being taken off. In his 59 minutes, he had 22 touches and struggled. Of his 22 touches, four were in the box, but he only had one shot, which was blocked. He went 6/10 on accurate passes, 0/3 on dribbles, 0/1 on accurate crosses, 4/9 on duels and was given a yellow card in the 41st minute. Aloko tried to use his physicality and raw ability to beat defenders in the match, something that more often than not, did not work. He is a young player that still has a lot of growing left in his game. If Abada and Smalls continue playing the way they are then they should get the immediate minutes over Aloko as he develops more.