Charlotte FC 2-0 Atlanta United: Poor Defending Lets the Five Stripes Down
Atlanta United sporadically created some good chances, but ultimately lost to rivals Charlotte FC 2-0 due to poor defending against the counter attack.
United’s starting 11 showed that the team was at a disadvantage from the start due to injuries to fullbacks Pedro Amador, Brooks Lennon, and Ronald Hernandez. Usual left-sided CB Luis Abram was moved out to left back, while Homegrown Matt Edwards started at right back for the second straight game. Another missing piece was starting midfielder Mateusz Klich, who was out due to illness, and he was replaced by Jay Fortune. Atlanta’s SLAM attacking unit started together as expected.
Charlotte’s starting 11 was highlighted by the debut of former Crystal Palace midfielder Wilfred Zaha alongside USMNT forward Patrick Agyemang and DP right winger Liel Abada.
The game started as a possession battle, with both teams struggling to get things going due to solid defensive structures. In the 18th minute, Miguel Almiron had the team’s first shot on target getting into a good position on the right side of the goal line, but it was saved by Charlotte GK Kahlina with his legs. In the 40th minute, Emmanuel Latte Lath would see a powerful volley on a deflected cross go wide left. A few minutes later, Almiron again got to the goal line but on the left side, forcing another leg-save by Kahlina as he dropped his knee. Just after that save, a cross came in for Saba Lobjanidze while he was inside the 6-yard box, but he completely scuffed the shot as it harmlessly went out of play.
The first half was dominated by Atlanta when it came to chances created and possession of the ball. Charlotte had absolutely nothing in the attack. United’s struggles in the final third came from Charlotte closing the space inside the 18 rather well, cutting off dangerous passes, and a general lack of cohesiveness. With Miguel Almiron cutting inside a lot, it occasionally caused congestion when he tried to build the attack next to Saba or Latte Lath. When the passing combinations worked, Atlanta found the limited space in Charlotte’s tight backline, but didn’t get crosses or shots off in time to cause any damage. It was clear that Atlanta’s attacking unit will take time to gel.
However, the chances created were still positives, and if the team could just get Emanuel Latte Lath the ball more (he only had it from a few through balls and consistently beat defenders 1 on 1) from crosses out wide, they were on pace to win the match. It is a system that will heavily benefit from the play of Pedro Amador and Brooks Lennon when they return and will hopefully help to make everything less compact the next time Atlanta face Charlotte.
To add, Charlotte would often foul Miranchuk or Almiron when the ball advanced to stop an attack from developing. And, Atlanta’s press was causing Charlotte troubles building out the back especially in the last 20 minutes, so if Latte Lath with his rapid pace and others kept stepping at the right time, a result seemed inevitable.
Then, the game flipped on its head.
In the 49th minute, a disastorous header by Derrick Williams off a Charlotte clearance fell straight to Wilfred Zaha, who beat Gregersen and played through Pep Biel for an easy finish and the first goal of the match. Biel had stayed behind Luis Abram, who had gone high to fulfill his role as a fullback, but Abram could never catch back up.
Just 4 minutes later, another long clearance led to disaster as Matthew Edwards over-stepped to the ball, allowing Abada to put him and run down the right side of the pitch. His shot was saved by Guzan, however, the rebound fell to Zaha in the box, who volleyed in a shot that likely should have been saved by Guzan into the bottom right corner. Pretty or not, Charlotte’s star signing, acquired after a failed attempt by the club to land Almiron, had taken over the game.
After that, Charlotte had a few attempts at goal that Guzan handled fairly easily, but most for caused by United struggling in the back to deal with Charlotte’s press, the opposite of what happened in the first half. Atlanta also had nothing at all in the attack. The quick goals from Charlotte seemingly killed all momentum and attacking buildup they previously had. This led to a quadruple-substitution in the 72nd minute, where Edwin Mosquera, Jamal Thiare, Xande Silva, and Tristan Muyumba all came on for Saba, Latte Lath, Edwards, and Miranchuk.
After the mass change, Atlanta had some life. Mosquera created a few chances off his foot that went just wide, and in the 89th minute a powerful shot from Thiare in the left side of the 18 forced a spectacular save from Kahlina in the top left corner. However, it was nowhere near enough. When Dominik Chong Qui made his professional debut for the club in the 88th minute, fans were left wondering if the preseason standout should’ve been on much earlier as Charlotte left with the 3 points.
Charlotte also got to leave this match by throwing a lot of shade at their I-85 neighbors, making fun of Atlanta fans leaving the game early and joking that their star-studded attack amounted to nothing. However, things surpassed jokes when Soccer Down Here photographer Sofia Cupertino posted that a Charlotte fan had thrown beer on her and her camera as she left the field. That fan needs to be better, and it shows that a developing rivalry may be getting a bit too heated.
Atlanta will now have a week in preparation for a home game against the hated New York Red Bulls on Saturday at 7:30pm. Charlotte, meanwhile, will play Inter Miami away next Sunday at 4:00pm.