Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Heartbreak on the final touch, Charlotte FC loses 3-2

By Billy McGee (@iambillymcgee)

Needing at least a draw to clinch a playoff spot, Charlotte FC equalized in the 69th minute but conceded a last-minute goal to lose 3-2 to the Portland Timbers. With three games left to play, the Crown sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Chicago for a top four spot.

Here’s our Stock Up, Stock Down for Charlotte FC’s disappointing loss out West.

Stock Up

Luca de la Torre - Luca de la Torre started on the bench, but came on as a substitute for Liel Abada in the 62nd minute, making a difference quickly. He assisted Aidan Toklomati’s goal with a pinpoint cross to level the score at 2-2. de la Torre finished the game going 18/19 on accurate passes, 1/2 on accurate crosses, recorded one tackle, and had a shot miss just to the right of the goal. The 28-year-old midfielder needed a good performance off the bench to show why he deserves playing time with new signing Abdoulaye Doucoure soon to be inserted into the lineup.

Stock Down

Western Conference road form - With yet another road loss against a Western Conference opponent, Charlotte extends their road winless streak against the Western Conference to nine under Dean Smith. Charlotte FC has seen the most success the club has ever had under Dean Smith, but away trips to Western Conference teams have been the one place where they have consistently struggled. This loss was their final trip out West of the season, so this will be something that Dean Smith and his team will have to fix next season.

Wing depth - Charlotte FC was forced to start a wing duo of Rodolfo Aloko and Liel Abada with Maxi missing the game due to illness. The absence of the DP was noticeable, with Abada being subbed off for a midfielder. The lack of flair and one-on-one ability without Maxi limits what the Charlotte FC attack is capable of.

Fullback play - Both starting fullbacks for Charlotte struggled in the game; neither David Schnegg nor Nathan Byrne recorded a tackle and went a combined 71/90 on accurate passes and 0/4 on accurate crosses. Schnegg was replaced by Harry Toffolo in the 70th minute, who was solid but not great. If everyone is fit and available to play, then Toffolo and Cleary should be given more playing time in the upcoming games, given the lackluster performances from Schnegg and Byrne against Portland.

Chance creation - The Charlotte FC attack had just six shots against Portland, just three being on target. Over the last three games, Charlotte has put just eight shots on target. They have, however, converted shots on target to goals at a pretty good rate in that span, but the very limited amount of chances they get caps how many goals they can score. In the three remaining games, they will need to do more with their possession and create quality chances in order to score more goals.

Attacking volume against - Much like the attacking struggles with volume, the defense is also struggling with volume, giving up 81 shots and 32 shots on target in their last three games. While Kahlina has made some impressive saves over that span, he can only do so much with the amount of shots he faces. Charlotte has previously allowed lots of shots; many of them were from outside the box and less threatening. That has not been the case recently. The defensive struggles need to change if they are to right the ship in the final games of the season.