Charlotte 1-0 Montreal: The Crown Captures Their First Road Win
The boys head home with three points and a new passport stamp as they defeated CF Montreal 1-0 at the Stade Saputo. As I mentioned yesterday, this was a game between two teams at opposite ends of the table and was the perfect opportunity for Charlotte to capture their first road win.
With Wilfried Zaha out while he recovers from a recent thumb surgery, there were some changes to the starting XI. Kerwin Vargas got the nod on the right while Liel Abada filled in on the left for Zaha. On the defensive side, Tim Ream moved over to the left back spot while Andrew Privett slid in at the left center back spot. On the right side, Nathan Byrne once again got the start at right back while Adilson Malanda covered the other center back spot. The midfield three consisted of Biel, Westwood, and Bronico while Agyemang was the man upfront. Once again, the man in goal was none other than Kristijan Kahlina.
The defense and goalkeeping was excellent last night as Montreal had a corner in the eighth minute but the header hit the post and Tim Ream was able to clear the ball out of the danger area. Sixteen minutes into the match, Biel put one past the keeper to break the tie and put Charlotte up 1-0, a result that would hold the rest of the match. A nice pass by Abada found Biel, who had his first attempt blocked, but he was able to track the deflection and convert his second shot. Montreal had another chance in the 25th minute, but the shot went wide of the post. Biel almost added another in the 31st minute but put just a little too much power on it. At the end of the first half, Charlotte again had another chance but Patrick Agyemang couldn’t convert a tough shot as he was falling down. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of The Crown.
Montreal came out swinging to start the second half with a shot just over the top of the crossbar. The 58th and 70th minutes were more of the same for Montreal, chances that missed the target. Kahlina had a nice save in the 71st minute to keep Charlotte ahead. Liel Abada intercepted a ball in the 73rd minute but a nice save by the Montreal Keeper prevented another Charlotte goal. When the final whistle blew, Charlotte secured three points.
Shots on target was a key in the game as Montreal out shot Charlotte 19-8. However, Charlotte had four shots on target to Montreal's two. The big difference was missed shots where Montreal ended the night with seven while Charlotte finished with three. Possession also favored the home side with Charlotte only controlling the ball for 34% of the match. The most important stat from the game, three points for The Crown.
With three points yesterday, Charlotte sits at the top in the east with sixteen points. While second place FC Cincinnati also has sixteen points, Charlotte’s goal difference of plus six gives them the top spot. The boys look to stay at the top as they are back in action on the 19th as they welcome San Diego to the Queen City for a 7:30 pm kickoff.