Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Zaha embraces the Villain role; Defense falls asleep; Agyemang is missed.

By Sam Vanolinda

Photo Courtesy of CJ Hellner/Topbin90

Charlotte FC returned to action on Saturday, facing off against the current best team in the East, the Philadelphia Union.

This was a back-and-forth game against an opponent you can't expect to beat in the City of Brotherly Love. After going down 0-1 in the first half, Wilfried Zaha stepped up tremendously to even the score 1-1 in the 78th minute.

After holding off the Union’s attack until the dying embers of the game, Philadelphia substitute striker, Markus Anderson, took advantage of the entire Charlotte backline falling asleep simultaneously and letting a ball bounce in the box straight to him for an easy game-winning goal in the 98th minute.

"We didn't deserve to lose the game," Dean Smith said post-match. "I thought it was two teams who cancelled each other out a lot during the game, struggled to build up....I thought we were better second half, probably the better team, deservedly got back into it... the goal at the end was a sickener."

A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, painful loss to take. A point on the road against Philadelphia would’ve provided significant momentum to the Crown as they get back into the swing of the season. Instead, the team got on the plane home with a sour taste in their mouths.

Here’s the stock up and stock down for Saturday night’s 1-2 loss against Philadelphia:

Stock Up:

Wilfried Zaha

As Charlotte FC were counterattacking in the first half, Zaha was elbowed in the head area by a Philadelphia defender. This very much got under Zaha's skin, who proceeded to receive a yellow card due to his reaction, and a smattering of boos from the home crowd for the rest of the game.

You can tell that after that moment, Zaha’s intensity levels instantly went up a notch. Zaha turns anger and frustration into performances.

He began to move with more emphasis and attack the Union’s goal. This resulted in Zaha’s excellent first-time finish in the 78th minute, which levelled the game. 

It was an impressive cross from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty that landed right on Zaha’s Hypervenoms. He calmly redirected the ball towards the corner.

Zaha won the most duels of the match (10), was the most fouled player (six times), and completed three dribbles, which was also the most in the game.

Wilf has stepped up as the best player on the team, having adapted now to MLS play. At first, Biel was dominating, but recently Zaha has taken over as the most important player on the team.

"He found the ball second half becasue we put him into the pocket a little bit, and played Souley a little bit wider, he then came into the game an awful lot more," Smith said of Zaha's performance Saturday.

Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty

Marshall-Rutty has been a surprising and welcome addition to the squad. While Nick Scardina was the first player to take over the right back role when Nathan Byrne went down, Marshall-Rutty has now taken over the reins with Doumbia playing on the left.

He has not only been a solid defender, but also has shown conviction going forward, which resulted in his curled ball into Zaha adding an assist to his stat sheet.

Marshall-Rutty will continue to start for the team until Byrne returns to the lineup. He has proven himself.

Despite the game-winning goal going through his legs, I still think the Canadian had a good game and has been a great addition to the squad.

Eryk Williamson

Williamson looked good when he came on in the 68th minute. His line-splitting ball into Abada is what set up the Zaha goal.

Recently, the midfield has looked weak, so Williamson could find his way back into the starting 11 if he continues to impress when he comes in.

He had three passes into the final third, two tackles won, two recoveries, and three duels won in his short time in the game. Not game-breaking stuff, but enough to increase his stock.

Stock Down

Adilson Malanda

Malanda looked off his game after the week-long break. 

He was dribbled past once, lost six duels, committed three fouls, won zero tackles, and was only 35% on long balls (6/17).

He looked uncomfortable dealing with the Philadelphia press. When the Union scored the game-winning goal, he had the chance to clear the ball, but just watched it bounce past Cavan Sullivan and towards Markus Anderson. 

Amidst rumors of European interest during the summer transfer window, Malanda hasn’t been helping his case recently.

Idan Toklomati 

Toklomati was not the right striker choice for this game, but unfortunately, Agyemang was out with the USMNT.

I say this because Charlotte was more direct on Saturday, playing against Philadelphia's press, often having to pass the ball long, where Agyemang would prevail in winning duels and keeping possession.

Unfortunately, Toklomati isn’t as physical as Agyemang in the air, so a lot of times the ball would just make its way back to the Union’s back line for them to begin their attack.

Toklomati only had one shot, lost five duels, and had 11 passes. 

It was an opportunity for him to prove himself with a full start, but the Union away from home is a challenging game to excel in for a team like Charlotte.

Kerwin Vargas

The issue of finding an effective right winger continues for Charlotte FC. While both Abada and Vargas have had good moments this season, neither has consistently produced.

Vargas had zero chances created, one shot, only 11 passes, 0/3 accurate crosses, and he picked up a yellow card to top it off. 

Some of the best players in football right now are on the right side, so when you go from watching Dembele and Lamine Yamal to watching Charlotte FC right-wingers, it makes you realize how little impact they have.

Souleyman Doumbia

I don't think Doumbia had a bad game in general, but in the 98th minute, when Privett headed the ball high into the air towards the left side of the field, Doumbia simply stood by.

He sat there and watched the ball land with zero reaction. It was a completely free header for Francis Westfield into the box, which won the game for the Union.

I understand that after 98 minutes of football, it's hard to focus and compete in every duel. You are tired and heavy-legged at that point in the fixture.

With that said, you cannot lose focus at that moment, and his loss of focus, combined with awful defending from everyone else involved, led to the loss.

Who was your man of the match?

• Zaha
• Marshall-Rutty
• Other