What a rollercoaster of a season it has been for Charlotte FC. After a hot start, things cooled off and the club found themselves out of a playoff spot but Dean Smith and the boys kept fighting. As of today, Charlotte finds themselves in third place in the east and a nine game win streak intact.
Charlotte moved up to third after securing a 3-0 defeat of Inter Miami on Saturday. After securing the win, the boys (and the fans) had to wait until the match between the Portland Timbers and New York Redbulls wrapped up to find out if Charlotte would be playing playoff soccer this season. After a 2-1 result became official, The Crown found out they’re playoff bound.
Now let’s get into the lineup. Once again, we saw a top three of Wilfried Zaha, Idan Toklomati, and Kerwin Vargas. The midfield three consisted of Brandt Bronico, Djibril Diani, and captain Ashley Westwood. On the defensive side, Dean and the coaching staff went with a center back pairing of Tim Ream and Adilson Malanda while Nathan Byrne and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty held down the flanks. The man tasked with stopping the Miami attack was once again Kristijan Kahlina.
Once again, no complaints from me. A strong top three with a midfield that works together like a well oiled machine has been a key for The Crown as they continue their winning streak. On the defensive side, Charlotte has (in my opinion) one of the best back fours in the MLS. Having a reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year between the pipes gives Charlotte a strong starting XI when all the pieces work together and feed off of each other.
Now let’s talk about the match and boy was it a fun one. With an electric crowd in the stands, Idan Toklomati tapped one past the Miami keeper after a beautiful assist from Kerwin Vargas to put the home side up 1-0 in the 34th minute. The night was just getting started for Idan as he would add his second in the 47th minute after Wilfried Zaha found Brandt Bronico who laid it off for Toklomati and Idan found the back of the net for his second goal of the night. Miami would continue to fight but Zaha drew a foul and Idan stepped up to take the penalty. Firing a shot in the bottom left corner Idan secured his first MLS hat trick in the 84th minute. When the final whistle blew, Charlotte picked up three points and improved the streak to nine in a row.
In my opinion, this was one of the best and most complete matches Charlotte has played. Idan’s hat trick is clearly one of the best moments of the match but I think a turning point was Krijan Kahlina's penalty save against Messi in the first half. I think the save kept the momentum with The Crown and a combination of a powerful attack and stingy defense helped the boys shut out Miami and earn a clean sheet.
With four matches left to go in the regular season, Charlotte travels to Yankee Stadium for a noon kickoff against NYCFC.
Thank you for reading and remember to stay locked in with the Southeast Soccer Report for your Charlotte FC coverage.