Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Zaha creates something out of nothing, Biel continues domination, Toklomati the hero, Agyemang on the hot seat?
- Sam Vanolinda
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
By Sam Vanolinda
Charlotte FC continues to make a living at Bank of America Stadium. After a lackluster first half, the Crown stormed back to steal a late victory courtesy of rising star Idan Toklomati.
The 2-1 victory against Nashville SC moved Charlotte FC to fourth in the East and 4-0 at home in the 2025 season.
While the comforts of home have propelled Charlotte into one of the best teams in the East, more consistent road performances will be key if they want to make a deep Playoff run.
The team continues to preach that they have yet to play to their full potential, which is pretty evident. Although the team has won four games, it’s safe to say they haven’t been playing beautiful football.
The narrative would’ve been very different if the team hadn’t been able to get it together towards the end of the game and get those two goals. It seemed like the energy shifted in the game after a scary moment for Nashville center-back Walker Zimmerman, who was bicycle-kicked in the face by Kerwin Vargas.
From that point on, the Nashville players were rattled, and Wilfried Zaha could take advantage of that, drawing and dispatching a penalty, marking his second goal of the season. It was a much-needed goal for Zaha after weeks of struggle.
The game-winner was a trademark weighted ball by MLS assist leader Pep Biel, which was passed to Idan Toklomati, who expertly put the ball past the keeper and smashed it into the net.
Toklomati will raise discussions on whether he deserves to start with a substitute appearance like that. Here’s the stock up/down for Saturday’s game.
Stock Up
Pep Biel
Biel's performance in 2025 has put the league on notice. He is the team MVP but may even be in contention for MLS MVP.
So far, Biel has five assists and two goals, leading the team in both categories. He has made a living off his perfect passes through the middle of the field; he can find strikers in stride when they make runs and set up massive goal-scoring chances.
Dean Smith rotated Biel into the right side of the field instead of his usual central position, which caused him to make little impact in the first half.
In the second half, however, Biel drifted back centrally and set up the game-winner. Biel is a player who should control the ball as much as possible for the Crown. He has passing ability and a deft touch on the ball, qualities no other team member possesses to his level.
Biel was 91% passing and had three successful dribbles. His 39 touches are fewer than he should have, but he had to fill the right side with Liel Abada not playing.
Biel proves every week what an amazing decision it was to bring him back to the team. Who knows where this team would be without him?
Wilfried Zaha
Saturday night’s game was one in which, if Zaha had not contributed a goal or assist, questions would begin to rise about his ability to perform in this league.
But from my hundreds of hours watching the winger from Croydon, I know that he steps up when under pressure; every time I have doubted him, he has proved me wrong.
In the 85th minute, after a stagnant offensive showing, Zaha received a long ball, chested it down, and glided past a defender, feeling the contact and going down to draw a penalty.
Everyone in the stadium knew that Zaha would step up in that moment to tie the game, and that is what he did—slotting the ball into the net.
Zaha will always be a player who can step up in the big moment. While his performance may not be consistently breathtaking, he keeps going even when the game seems out of reach.
His more advanced statistics were not incredible on Saturday, but he created something from nothing when the offense had no direction.
Idan Toklomati
Toklomati is a player bursting with potential. His work rate and effort are noticeable every time you watch him.
Even in his late sub minutes in previous games, fans have begun to appreciate the Israeli because he never stops hustling and adds a new type of striker to the pitch, which is different from Patrick Agyemang.
On Saturday, Toklomati’s hard work paid off when he smashed the ball into the back of the net in front of a frenzied crowd at the Bank, beating the team's Eastern rivals and pulling out the “sleep” celebration in honor of Charlotte native Steph Curry (whom I have nightmares about beating my Celtics in the 2022 finals).
With his hard work, Toklomati has created a position battle. Agyemang is still the team's main striker, but given his struggles this year, it may be worth trying Toklomati as a starter.
Stock Down
Patrick Agyemang
Agyemang can still be an outstanding player but he thrives on service into the box.
Unfortunately, this year, the crosses and service have been lackluster. Biel orchestrates most goals through the middle of the field, and Toklomati makes better runs behind with his controlled speed.
Agyemang is dangerous with the ball in the box, but he hasn’t been able to adjust based on how the team is playing this year.
In a team that is dominating possession and frequently has the space and time to deliver balls into the box, Agyemang would score for fun. Still, with the disjointed attack that Charlotte FC has and the way the team organizes itself under Dean Smith, it’s been hard for him to make an impact.
I think Agyemang will still bag 10+ goals this season, but with Toklomati scoring, Agyemang better step up his level.
Agyemang had 17 total touches and 7 passes with zero shots on goal.
Dean Smith
Questions need to be asked about Smith’s tactics on Saturday.
The team looked lost in the first half, with Biel drifting out wide. Andrew Privett's exclusion was also interesting; the team was much better when he subbed in.
This would've been an embarrassing home loss if it weren’t for Zaha and Toklomati’s late heroics.
Smith needs to create more of an identity for the team. Are they counter-attacking? Possession-based? Are they pressing? Are they more focused on defensive structure or sending men forward? These questions all pop up because it feels like the team takes a new identity every game.
While it is great that this team has been efficient with its chances recently, it would be nice to see more chances created, more opportunities for the offense to prove themselves, and for Zaha to have space on the ball.
In the next few games, I want to see a 90-minute, consistent performance where the team has control and can create consistent opportunities.
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