Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte outclassed by Columbus
By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee
After taking an early lead, Charlotte FC struggled to do anything else positive as they fell 3-1 on the road to the Columbus Crew. The loss marks their first defeat to a non-Chicago team in MLS play since the 1-0 loss against New York City FC on May 13. Despite dropping all three points, they remain within range of reclaiming a top four position with their next match, sitting just two points behind Chicago and three points behind New England.
Here is our stock up, stock down for Charlotte FC's disappointing loss to Columbus Crew:
Stock Up
Kristijan Kahlina - Although he saw three goals get past him, Kahlina may have been Charlotte FC’s lone bright spot in the match. Kahlina is no stranger to having a lot of shots taken against him as Charlotte have allowed teams to take many shots against them previously, but those are typically lower percentage shots and from farther away. This match was different, though; Columbus was on the front foot for most of the match, having 63 touches inside the Charlotte box and putting 14 shots on target, 11 of which Kahlina saved, including seven inside the box. He faced six big chances created by Columbus, but only one of those actually led to a goal.
Stock Down
Brandt Bronico - Bronico got the nod to start as the third midfielder alongside Ashley Westwood and Pep Biel for the second consecutive game, but was taken off at halftime in favor of Luca de la Torre. He struggled to make a positive impact on the game, going 13/19 on accurate passes, including 0/3 on accurate long balls, and committed an error that led to the Crew’s first goal. After a lackluster performance that saw him be an early sub and another game coming up over the weekend, Bronico could see a decrease in playing time.
Ashley Westwood - The Charlotte FC captain is usually one of the team’s most reliable players every game and even had a couple of positives in this match, creating a chance and going 5/9 on accurate long balls, but overall it was a disappointing showing for the veteran midfielder. Westwood made just five defensive contributions in a match where Columbus was constantly on the attack, failed to win a duel, and committed an error that led to a goal.
Pep Biel - After a promising second half against FC Dallas that seemed like he was getting back in form, Biel again struggled as he did in the first half against Dallas and against Chicago. Although there were some good things to take away from his performance, like going 3/3 on accurate long balls, he overall played poorly. Biel was not as involved centrally as he usually is when he is on his game and the Charlotte FC attack is firing on all cylinders. With just five games left before the playoffs, Pep Biel will need to return to the player that we know he is if Charlotte wants to make a run at the MLS Cup.
Game control - Although ball possession was split fairly evenly with Columbus having 53 percent of the ball and Charlotte having 47 percent, the game never really felt like Charlotte was in control at any point after taking the lead. As previously mentioned, Charlotte will allow a high volume of shots from time to time, but those shots are usually from outside the box and do not dictate the game. In this game, however, they allowed Columbus to take a club-record 33 shots, 22 of which came in the first half, have 63 touches in the box, and take 10 corner kicks, compared to Charlotte’s nine shots, 22 touches in the box, and four corner kicks.
