Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Charlotte’s poor run of form continues against the top team in the Eastern Conference

By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee

Photo courtesy of Ethan Garnier/TopBin90

Charlotte FC and Nashville SC faced off against each other for the second time in as many weeks, this time at Geodis Park. They continued to struggle defensively, failing to limit the explosive Nashville attack that has scored more goals than anyone else in the Eastern Conference so far this season.

Here’s a look at our stock up, stock down from Charlotte FC’s second consecutive loss on the road.

Stock Up

Pep Biel - Although he was included in the stock up in Charlotte FC’s midweek loss to Orlando City, Pep Biel continues to impress, enough so to earn a stock up inclusion for back-to-back games. Biel scored a 68th-minute stunner from outside the penalty area to cut Nashville’s lead to one and make it seem like they were still in the game. They ultimately conceded a fourth not long after his goal, but it doesn’t discredit his efforts. The goal is his first since Charlotte's 6-1 thrashing of the Red Bull New York and marks three straight games with a goal contribution for the Spaniard. On his day, he is among the best midfielders in MLS, and he is making a case for himself to be on the All-Star team in July.

Morrison on set pieces - Morrison Agyemang scored his first goal for Charlotte FC in the midweek match against Orlando from a free kick delivered in by Biel. He added another header goal on a free kick on Saturday, this one assisted by Ashley Westwood. The 21-year-old Ghanaian has been a welcome surprise for the club this year, slotting in as the right-sided center back at halftime of the game against LA Galaxy and being a relatively steady force defensively, barring some slip-ups here and there. Now, using his size and athletic ability on set pieces as a possible target player gives the team more ways to score as they look to improve in dead-ball situations after hiring a set-piece coach this season. He already has more goals in a season than any Charlotte defender in the Dean Smith era.

Stock Down

Third Midfielder - Charlotte’s midfield has Westwood and Biel penciled in every game, but the final starting spot has seen some pretty heavy rotation this season. Whether it is Brandt Bronico, Djibril Diani, or Luca de la Torre, none of the three have given Dean Smith much of a reason recently that they should be the primary option for the job. They all provide different styles for the squad, slightly changing the dynamic between the players each game. The midfield trio has changed for each of the past four MLS games, with Bronico getting two starts in that span against New York City FC and the away fixture against Nashville. One of the three needs to step up and take advantage of the spot being up for grabs to help establish more on-field chemistry in the midst of a poor run of form.

Defensive Form - Charlotte FC conceded four goals for the second straight game with a slightly rotated back line due to Tim Ream’s injury and Henry Kessler struggling to get a full bill of health out of the gate. The defense tends to allow lots of shots, many of them from outside the box, and it seems it is catching up to them as teams have started scoring some of the lower xG chances that Charlotte allows them to take. There is hope that their fortunes could turn back around as the underlying stats for the last two games haven’t been nearly as bad as the results indicate, with 1.99 xGA against Nashville and 1.52 xGA against Orlando, but in their current form, it doesn’t seem like they’re trending in the right direction.