Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte's eight-match unbeaten streak comes to an end against Chicago
By Billy McGee (@iambillymcgee)
A poor attacking performance, mixed with some controversial refereeing decisions, led to a 1-0 loss for a short-handed Charlotte FC, ending their unbeaten run after eight games. Idan Toklomati, Liel Abada, and Rodolfo Aloko returning for the next match could hopefully right the ship after the disappointing outing for the Crown during the international break.
Here’s our stock up, stock down for Charlotte’s 1-0 loss against Chicago Fire FC.
Stock Up
Will Cleary - With all fullbacks healthy and available, Cleary got the nod to start over Nathan Byrne at right back. Although overall there were not many positives for Charlotte, both Dean Smith and Ashley Westwood said their praises for Cleary’s performance, specifically his play in the first half. From his fullback position, he went 4/6 on accurate long balls, made two tackles and three clearances.
Kristijan Kahlina - Kahlina made eight saves on Chicago’s nine shots on target, including five diving saves. Across the last two games, he has made 18 saves while letting in just two goals. If he keeps up his shot-stopping form, then Charlotte could get right back on track following their disappointing loss that brought their unbeaten streak to an end.
Stock Down
Archie Goodwin - In what was supposed to be a huge opportunity for Goodwin, with the absence of Idan Toklomati, the Australian striker left early with an injury yet again. It was the second time in the past month that he was selected to start but had to be helped off the pitch with an injury. Outside of the injury, Goodwin still did not play particularly well. In his 48 minutes, he had just six touches, failed to create any chances and didn’t register a shot. If his injury is to keep him out long term, then Charlotte will be short an attacker, with Tyger Smalls likely serving as the backup to Toklomati.
Depth attackers - Charlotte FC went into the game down three attackers, causing them to move Pep Biel out wide to the wing. With a makeshift attack that later in the game featured some depth players, they failed to score on Chicago’s second-choice goalkeeper. As a team, they had four big chances missed and put just two shots on target in the match. A slight bright spot for the attacking depth was the MLS debut of Nathan Richmond, who came on as a sub in the 81st minute but could not make much of a difference in his brief appearance.
Pep Biel - Biel had a rare bad game, with just four touches in the opposition box and having just one shot that wasn’t on target. Finishing was not the only area that he struggled with, as he had an all-around poor performance: going 1/7 on accurate crosses, 1/9 on duels, and being dispossessed three times. Biel will need to return to his usual form going forward if Charlotte FC are to get back to getting favorable results.
