Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: The Crown's historic start gets the job done

By Brian Maurer

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hallmark/TopBin90

Brandt Bronico got the scoring started early for Charlotte FC as his goal in just 29 seconds became the third fastest goal in the Crown's history. Liel Abada adding a second in the ninth minute gave Charlotte a two goal cushion less than 10 minutes into their game against the Columbus Crew.

While the Crew had some moments and did find a goal of their own towards the end of the first half, Charlotte FC held on for the victory putting the game away in the second half and moving up the Eastern Conference standings to fifth. The Crown now sits just two points off the mark of top four in the EC with several favorable matches coming up.

Here is our stock up, stock down after Charlotte's weekend win:

Stock Up

Brandt Bronico - The Mayor is starting to get reps again after a major reduction in minutes through the first half of the season. Dean Smith has left Bronico out of the starting eleven in each of his three years in charge. But down the stretch he tends to revert back to high-motor midfielder. After Djibril Diani had looked to lock up the role alongside Ashley Westwood it seems like there is a bit more of a competition at the position than it felt it May. Scoring two goals in four, even if they weren't the prettiest, also helps. It will be interesting to see if Smith continues to rely more heavily on Bronico's engine as the season ramps up.

Allan Saint-Maximin - Allan Saint-Maximin has had two great cameo appearances since joining the club. He won the penalty against Pachuca that could have gotten the Crown through to the knockout rounds of the Leagues Cup, and then on Saturday came in for the full second half. Charlotte had three big chances in the second half against the Crew and Saint-Maximin was involved in all three, directly setting up two and then playing the switch pass to Biel for the Spaniard's goal that put the game to bed. ASM said he came to Charlotte to help the team win and get his teammates involved by setting them up with goals and through two cameos he has been true to his word. Charlotte's finishing just hasn't gotten him the assists yet, but with volume those numbers should come.

Henry Kessler - Now that he is healthy Henry Kessler looks to have taken the starting spot from Morrison who has filled the role through the majority of the season alongside Tim Ream. Smith mentioned that he feels Kessler and Ream's experience paired alongside each other reduces the amount of mistakes on the backline. Kessler is in a contract year so he will be looking to maintain his role through the second half of the season, but there were instances of tightness during Leagues Cup. The center back competition will be an interesting one to watch as the season winds down.

Stock Down

Morrison - Morrison's stock has to go down not necessarily by anything he did. Smith said that he has progressed further than expected so far this season, but at the same time he lost his role in the eleven. Smith also said he hopes that this change drives him to learn and develop further and to try and win his spot back. Smith is using competition to try and push his young players further, we will have to wait and see how Morrison responds to this latest added pressure.

Djibril Diani - Another player who looks to have lost his role a little bit is Diani. At first it looked like it was just Leagues Cup rotation, but since the World Cup break the French midfielder has only made one start in four MLS matches. Before the World Cup break Diani had made five starts in the last six games in all competitions. The dynamic has clearly changed in the midfield group. Luca de la Torre has turned Smith's head since summer training resumed, but Bronico has now also re-entered the mix. Questions abound for the midfielders as Smith continues to toggle between a double pivot and a flat three.