As Petar Musa’s shot hit the back of the net in the 64th minute to give FC Dallas a 2-0 lead, a rainy Saturday night set the stage for what looked like a dreary result for Charlotte FC.
But as the match went on and the rain continued to fall, Charlotte FC did not.
Thirty-two minutes earlier, defeat seemed inevitable. By the final whistle, The Crown had turned despair into triumph. The Bank of America Stadium scoreboard radiated Charlotte FC’s 3-2 triumph on October 10 – the 50th win at home for The Crown – showcasing the resiliency that the Club displayed to overcome the deficit.
Charlotte FC’s two-goal comeback to win marked the second time in the Club’s history that they’ve done so. They previously accomplished the feat beating Chicago Fire FC 3-2 on September 17, 2022, at Soldier Field.
“Never give up,” Head Coach Dean Smith said. “You're 2-0 down with 20 minutes to go and there's still an opportunity to go and not just get back into the game, but to win the game. I think we've proven that this season that we've gone behind sometimes and come back and I think that's an important thing to have in the team.”
Allan Saint-Maximin sparked the comeback, weaving through defenders and setting up Idan Toklomati to halve Dallas’ lead just six minutes after Musa’s strike.
Maxi showcased his dribbling prowess to create the goal. Gaining the ball at the left touchline, he moved closer to the box and undermined two Dallas defenders to open a passing lane on the endline.
As soon as Toklomati saw that Maxi was going to create an opportunity for him in front of goal, he cut in front of the defender man-marking him to give the French winger a 5-foot-10 frame to pass and poach Charlotte FC’s first score of the night.
“He's become more of a fox in the box now, you know, which is important,” Smith said. “I like center forwards who are getting goals from two, three yards out, because then they're in the right area.”
Charlotte FC kept the pressure on Dallas, continuing to force them into mistakes to give The Crown possession and allow them to back down Los Toros. The sustained pressure resulted in a corner in the 74th minute – another opportunity to capitalize on the momentum they had conjured up so quickly.
Pep Biel lined up at the right corner flag and took four short steps up to the ball and launched it into a sea of red. Among the jumping cluster of Dallas defenders, two players rose above – Toklomati and Harry Toffolo.
Toklomati’s initial header bounced off Toffolo as he tried to head the ball in, ricocheting the ball onto the ground and past the frantic hands of FC Dallas goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa.
Flames erupted behind the goal as the equalizer hit the net. The downpour of rain suddenly seemed distant, replaced by a downpour of goals by The Crown and the roar inside the Fortress.
“I think it just shows the character in the dressing room,” Toffolo said. “Obviously I came on at 1-0 and then we go 2-0 down; it's a difficult position. Me and said to each other before, ‘Let's go and be game changers and let's go and bring something to this game, try and change the momentum,’ and obviously conceding again wasn't the plan we had, but we dug deep.”
A minute and 22 seconds into extra time, the comeback culminated with Toklomati’s second goal of the match and his 11th of the season.
As Biel made his way into the attacking third, he spotted Rodolfo Aloko prime for a one-two pass.
The Mallorcan Magician weaved his magic, playing the ball into the box to Aloko. As soon as the Beninese international played the ball further into the box to Biel, he made a run to position himself for the winner. However, right behind him was the real threat – Toklomati.
Biel recognized the striker’s run into the goal area, playing a first-time ball across the box past De Sousa right to the foot of Toklomati for an open goal and the winner.
Biel extended his hold on the Club’s all-time goal contributions record with his two-assist performance that made him the first Charlotte FC player to record 50-plus goal contributions, with 51 in his time with the Club (24G+27A). He also tied his career-high assist total with Charlotte FC, reaching 12 assists for a second consecutive season.
Toklomati’s second goal of the night gave him both his first multi-goal match of the season and tied his career-high for goals (11).
“I'm very happy to score more than 10 goals the second season straight and I've got very quality and good players next to me,” Toklomati said. “If it's (Allan Saint-Maximin) right now, if it was (Wilfried Zaha) last season, that helps me a lot. Rodolfo (Aloko), , quality, high-level players that help me a lot and thanks to them for the assist – Pep (Biel), obviously.”
While the offensive attack was what helped Charlotte FC win the match, it was the defensive quality they showed after Musa’s goal that allowed them to do it.
The Crown outshot Dallas 7-2 following the 64th minute score to when Toklomati bagged the winner. After the score put The Crown in the lead, FC Dallas went all out to try and tie the match. Despite the intense pressure that Dallas brought in extra time, two shots failed to pierce the Charlotte FC defense.
“It was not right for us just to sit back, so we thought, let's keep a high line, let's be strong, let's be confident,” Toffolo said. “I think when teams go negative and just start sitting off, you invite pressure, and I don't think we did that at all. I thought we controlled the game from there on in.”
That refusal to sit back summed up Charlotte FC’s resilient spirit on a night when laying down would have been easy. Instead, they pushed not only to earn a draw but to gain three crucial points for a playoff push. The Crown trusted themselves and their teammates, turning a second-half deficit into momentum and setting a standard for what they can achieve as they chase greater ambitions in November.
“I think it bodes well for where we want to go,” Toffolo said. “We want to be in the playoffs, we want to go far in the playoffs, and I think today showed the character of the group. The Gaffer got it right with the changes and the tactical side of it and we managed to kick on and get the result. I wish football was always like that in a way, just such a happy ending and every man who played today was outstanding and we got the result.”
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For The Crown. Don't miss Charlotte FC in action at Bank of America Stadium for Season Five!
