Charlotte FC Report: Week 2, 2022

Charlotte FC

Last week was a historical match for the new Charlotte club, but the match result was not ideal. The squad took a 3-0 on the road against DC United. The match wasn’t without excitement though. In the 19th minute, Christian “Titi” Ortíz scored a goal, but it was called off due to an offside penalty. This would’ve been the first goal in Charlotte FC history, but it looks like we’ll have to wait on that. Losing by 3 goals wasn't the result that Charlotte fans wanted, but honestly, they didn’t look that bad on the field. They held possession for 53% of the match. They had as many shots as DC and one more shot on goal, so that tells me they were able to at least get into attacking position based only on stats. The season has only begun and these early games can set a precedent, but I think they’re really just looking for steady improvement in each match.

Joe Ryan/The Charlotte Observer

I didn’t know what to expect as far as the lineup was concerned in this first matchup, but it appears that they tried to go with a defensive setup. Charlotte rolled out with a 5-4-1 and I think that will be just fine. Charlotte has a defense heavy team at the moment and using what you have at your arsenal is crucial. I think they’ll roll out more defensemen in the upcoming games as well. I was shocked to see that Karol Swiderski wasn’t in the lineup last week. Apparently, he had issues with his visa, so he wasn’t allowed to travel. Those issues should be cleared up in time for the next match though and we’re excited to see him step on the field. Not knowing what kind of lineup they were going to roll out, I was surprised to see Jordy Alcivar coming off of the bench, but it made sense with the formation that they were running. I don’t know what we will see this week, but I think fans are just going to be excited to get that first home match out of the way.

Ashley Mahoney/Axios

Charlotte will play in front of the home crowd for the first time this Saturday night against the LA Galaxy. The match is expected to draw 74,000 spectators to the Bank of America Stadium and that would be an MLS attendance record, as reported by The Charlotte Observer. Tickets are available, but it looks like they’re already on the resale market, so you may have to wait until closer to match time if you want a better deal.

MLS

The Galaxy will be a tough opponent for Charlotte on Saturday. LA Galaxy wasn’t projected to be a top team in the Western Conference this season, but they’re always a club that you can’t rule out. Last week, they defeated the Eastern Conference favorite and 2021 MLS Champion New York City FC, 1-0. The result was somewhat surprising, but it goes to show anything can happen match-to-match. Javíer Hernandez, aka Chicharito, scored the only goal of the contest in the 90th minute of action and the Galaxy were heavy on the attack. They had 15 shots with 6 of them on goal. This will be a much tougher opponent for Charlotte than what last week was, so they will have to step up to the challenge on the defensive side of things. Hopefully we get to see that first MLS goal for Charlotte at home and hopefully the fans are going to be fired up to see the home club.

Yacs