Charlotte FC drew Orlando in soaking wet conditions at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night. Enzo Copetti made his return from injury, earning a penalty and dispatching it to take home a point for The Crown.
First Half
Lineup: Kahlina, Lindsey, Malanda, Privett, Byrne, Westwood, Jones, Bronico, Bender, Swiderski, Dejaegere (14’)
Substitutions: Meram (14’)
Charlotte FC started the match brightly, displaying some sharp passing and buildup play. No more than two minutes into the game, Karol Swiderski nearly found Ben Bender on the back post, but Orlando left back Rafael Santos got it clear at the last moment.
Brecht Dejaegere was just as dangerous over the opening 12 minutes as he was in his home debut against LAFC. He showed great 1v1 ability to find Derrick Jones inside the box for a blocked shot and a minute later arrived wide open at the back post, where he blazed his volleyed effort over the bar. Unfortunately, that was the number 10’s last involvement in the match, as he was forced to exit for Justin Meram while holding the back of his leg with an apparent injury.
CLTFC continued to apply pressure in his absence and built a variety of quality chances. Swiderski slipped Ben Bender in behind for a great chance at goal, but the young attacker’s first touch took him too far towards the endline and forced him to cycle it back to Swiderski for another blocked shot. The Polish striker also found Ashley Westwood with space and time on a cutback, but his one-time volley from the penalty spot flashed wide.
The best chance for CLTFC, though, landed on Derrick Jones’s head. Meram’s cross found him unmarked in the middle of the six-yard box, but Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made an impressive save as it skipped off the wet turf.
On the other end, Orlando had simultaneously found a foothold in the match. Charlotte FC were boldly committing a lot of numbers forward to create chances, and the attacking trio of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and Facundo Torres did well to exploit the space left behind. The best of those chances was a 2v1 counter attack that McGuire put away in the bottom corner. However, the goal was chalked off for a narrow offsides and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) upheld the decision.
Enrique also created danger throughout, hitting the post from distance and seeing another shot blocked by an excellent back-tracking Jaylin Lindsey.
Despite the numerous chances for both sides and a combined Expected Goals (xG) of 1.0, the match somehow got to halftime knotted at zero.
Second Half
Lineup: Kahlina, Lindsey (73'), Malanda, Privett, Byrne, Westwood, Jones, Bronico (67'), Bender (67'), Swiderski (74'), Meram
Substitutions: Jozwiak (67'), Arfield (67'), Uronen (73'), Copetti (74')
Charlotte FC took their turn to have a goal disallowed early in the second half. Swiderski flicked on a deflected, looping cross and Ben Bender roofed his finish on the back post. The celebrations were quickly cut short, though, as the assistant referee had his flag up and replays confirmed that Bender was clearly in an offside position.
Both teams traded some decent chances either way, with Nathan Byrne’s cross to Brandt Bronico most likely the best of the bunch. Bronico couldn’t quite get contact on the ball and paid for it as he took a hard, unlucky shoulder check from Rodrigo Schlegel.
Orlando had already made three changes by the hour mark, and CLTFC Head Coach Christian Lattanzio made his changes shortly after with the introduction of Scott Arfield and Kamil Jozwiak in favor of Brandt Bronico and Ben Bender. Enzo Copetti also made his long-awaited return from injury alongside Jere Uronen (Jaylin Lindsey and Karol Swiderski exited), making it all five changes used by the 74th minute.
Copetti made an immediate impact by earning a penalty, putting his body in between a looping cross and Schlegel, who somewhat clumsily sent him to the ground. The Argentine dashed to the ball to claim the rights to the penalty kick and cleanly dispatched it into the bottom right corner for the 1-0 lead. He flashed a “Never Give Up” shirt to the CLTFC fans, after last playing on July 5th against New York City FC.
Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last. Martin Ojeda served a deep free kick into the box in the 88th minute and a miscommunication between Nathan Byrne and Kristijan Kahlina sent it into the back of the net. Kahlina was able to get a hand to it late after Byrne let it go, but only pushed it off the post and in.
The game completely opened up from there as both sides looked to snatch a late winner. Copetti had a good chance cut back on his right foot, but his curling effort sailed safely wide. Despite a late scare on a VAR review for a potential Copetti red card, which the referee decided was only worthy of a yellow, the time eventually wound down to the end.
While the team will be disappointed with the draw in soaking wet conditions, it does not eliminate playoff chances by any means. Nine games remain, and CLTFC have a game in hand on all the teams around them to continue their climb up the table.
