Round 1, Match 1: Game Recap and Player Ratings for Charlotte FC vs NYCFC

By Brian Maurer

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/Topbin90

Charlotte FC looked like a team missing its most dangerous attacker for the majority of the first half. The Crown was able to mount a bit of pressure towards minute 40, but by then the team had already allowed a goal by Alonso Martinez after lazy team defending. A wake-up call from Dean Smith was needed at halftime to change the Crown's fortunes. Unfortunately, that wake-up call never came, and the attack continued to look toothless without their key man, Wilfried Zaha.

Kristijan Kahlina - 5/10

Kahlina was able to make the saves he could, but had to deal with Martinez cutting through the Charlotte backline like butter. That Martinez goal wasn't on Kahlina. The second half was relatively quiet for him, but the damage in the match was already done in the first 45.

Harry Toffolo - 5/10

A question for Toffolo was how he would combine with Abada? Turns out he wasn't able to help unlock the winger. He also failed to step on Alonso Martinez's dribble drive and score.

Displayed an ability with good crosses from the left, but wasn't able to make a serious impact and was involved in lazy defending in what turned out to be the key moment in the game.

Tim Ream - 4/10

Charlotte needed Ream to be a veteran presence in key defensive moments, and instead, he was one of four defenders who failed to step up and stop Martinez on his goal. While he and Malanda stayed more compact the rest of the match, the damage had already been done.

Adilson Malanda - 4/10

This might have been Malanda's last game at Bank of America Stadium. The Frenchman was one of four defenders who failed to step up and defend Martinez on the goal, and while he didn't make any other major mistakes, and also had some solid progressive passes; he made the most crucial of mistakes in a bad moment.

Nathan Byrne - 6/10

How did Byrne show up in his 100th appearance? Well, he was the only defender not involved in Martinez's goal against in the first half, and little of New York's attacking threat came from his side, even when New York's Hannes Wolf was subbed on. A quiet showing from a defender is usually a sign of a halfway decent game, but he wasn't able to provide enough connection going forward either.

Ashley Westwood - 5/10

Westwood played several long balls throughout the first half, but could not quite find the target to set up enough dangerous attacks. Was one of four defenders who failed to close down Alonso Martinez on his goal. Throughout the game, his ball progression was not clinical enough, and his frustrations boiled over in a scrum towards the end of the match.

Djibril Diani - 5/10

One question for Diani was how he would respond after giving up the penalty against Orlando in the playoffs last season. He had a bad turnover setting up a NYCFC counter, and Perea hit the crossbar in the 31st minute. His possession and passing throughout the match failed to make the needed impact.

Brandt Bronico - 5/10

Bronico's running was able to win Charlotte a dangerous free kick from just outside the box in the second half, but besides that and a couple of won corners, Bronico wasn't able to trigger enough turnovers in dangerous areas to make a significant impact. He was subbed off in the 78th minute for Archie Goodwin as Dean Smith needed to add more attackers to make a final push towards an equalizer.

Liel Abada - 3/10

Struggled to connect the whole first half and turned the ball over needlessly. He continued to fail to make an impact throughout his shift in the second half. He was the first player subbed off in the 65th minute. The question was whether the club record transfer could step up after losing his starting role, and his performance tonight failed to provide any confidence that he could.

Idan Toklomati - 5/10

Toklomati needed to answer the question of how he leads the line without Zaha? Can he create his own chances? The Israeli striker was able to beat Haak 1v1 in the 17th minute and dished it to Bronico for a shot, but apart from that, he struggled to make a significant impact for a large portion of the game. He drew a yellow card from Haak in the 71st minute, but wasn't able to apply enough pressure with three of four NYCFC defenders on yellow cards.

Kerwin Vargas - 6/10

He showed small glimpses in the first half, had a deflected shot early in the second half and brought some enthusiasm and determination to get the crowd back into the game, and created moments in the second half. Even if there were a few bright spots from the Colombian winger, it was not enough to make the impact needed.

Tyger Smalls - 5/10

Smalls subbed in for Abada in the 65th minute, but struggled to make an impact as the Crown searched for an equalizer.

Archie Goodwin - 5/10

Goodwin subbed in for Bronico in the 78th minute. He had one late look but wasn't able to make the chance count.

Brandon Cambridge - N/A

Cambridge subbed in for Vargas in the 86th minute.