PHOTO | TROY HULL

Charlotte FC coach Miguel Angel Ramirez praised his team's run during the U.S. Open Cup, which ended Wednesday with a 3-1 loss to New York Red Bulls.

Barely two weeks before they were scheduled to meet in an MLS match in North Carolina, Charlotte FC traveled to New Jersey to face the New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

New York won 3-1, sealing the game with a late score in added time, but not without a fight. And not without coach Miguel Angel Ramirez's admiration for his team's performance.

“Maybe this is the game of which I am most proud in this season,” he said, “because they understood the game plan. They executed it really, really, good. They understood how to play against Red Bull, defending and attacking. (New York) are a very demanding team and our response was so positive.”

In Charlotte's previous two Cup games, both against USL League One sides, Ramirez started mostly second team players to give them valuable minutes in the crucible of competition. For this match, both sides came out with more traditional starting lineups.

As the game started, there was a sense of déjà vu all. On Sunday against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Charlotte gave up a goal on a defensive error in the second minute but came back to level the game four minutes later.

Less than two minutes into this match, Charlotte was unable to clear the ball on a Red Bulls corner kick and Patryk Klimala knocked it in to give New York the lead. Five minutes later, Andre Shinyashiki was able to sneak behind the defense while staying onsides and laid the ball to Daniel Rios who slotted it home similar to his game-winner against the Whitecaps. It was Rios’ second Cup goal and third overall this season.

The game quickly devolved from there into a very physical, many times chippy, match between teams who had never played each other. Bodies hit the ground with regularity, most times with assistance from the opposition.

Brandt Bronico used a professional term of endearment for games where everyone gets stuck in. “When you play Red Bulls, it's always going to be scrappy," he said. “For the most part, I would say we were up for the challenge.”

Said Ramirez: “It did not surprise me because we expected this, we prepared for this, and we know how they play.”

Bronico received a yellow card in 23rd minute, followed by the Red Bulls Dylan Nealis in the 27thand Daniel Edelman in added time. Halftime was as much a ceasefire as it was a scheduled break.

Nothing cooled off during intermission. Jostling before a Red Bull corner kick in the 50th minute escalated into a minor scuffle. New York’s Thomas Edwards seemed particularly eager to instigate whenever the opportunity presented itself.

No one from Charlotte backed down, just as they haven't in any game to date. They might be on MLS's newest team but, on the whole, they are most all experienced professionals.

Despite the Red Bulls’ desire to get in their heads, Charlotte dominated possession at over 63%.

“We came out in the second half and did a lot better,” said Bronico. “I’d go as far as to say we dominated the game, and they get one ball over the top and get a tapped-in goal, which I guess lowered our spirits a little bit, but we kept fighting and we never gave up.”

Charlotte was spending more time in the New York end when in the 64th, Klimala beat Guzman Corujo down the left and, with Kristijan Kahlina covering the near post, played it all the way across the goal where Alan Mora failed to mark the run of Nealis, also a defender, who easily knocked it in for a 2-1 lead.

The goal came against the run of play.

“The game was very tight and the second goal from them came during our best moments, dominating the game, trying to have chances,” Ramirez said. “One mistake, of course, can happen but against this kind of team with this quality, if you have a moment with this kind of mistake, they punish you.”

On paper, there wasn't a great difference between the two sides, except for history. New York were fifth in the Eastern Conference, two spots ahead of Charlotte. Both had five wins, but the Red Bulls had four more draws. A significant difference was that NYRB scored 20 goals in MLS play while conceding 14, compared to Charlotte’s 12 and 16.

Even with their dominance of possession in many games, Charlotte has not consistently turned it into shots on goal. New York led 17-5 in shots, putting four on target to three for Charlotte. The Crown put in 13 crosses, but few ended up as chances. That’s something Ramirez has repeatedly said will come.

In recent weeks, the Crown has added attacking strength in Shinyashiki and just last week, Kerwin Vargas, who came on as a second half substitute against Vancouver, immediately electrified the crowd with a desire to shoot. He came on against New York in the 71st minute but saw less of the ball and could not provide the spark Charlotte needed.

Ramirez defended his defenders, highlighting their concentration and, for the most part, consistency in denying New York, “but it is so difficult to have a mistake against this type of opponent.” He said if someone didn’t watch the game and saw the score, they might believe Red Bulls were much better, but that was not his impression.

He wasn't wrong. Charlotte was in contention to the very end.

As for his impressions of their first U.S. Open Cup experience, Ramirez saw the glass as half full.

“First, the help from the entire roster. We played the first two games with players who don’t have minutes and played very well to progress to play against an MLS team,” he said. “The opportunity to compete in a beautiful game today, I enjoyed it. Seeing my team compete and being loyal to what we talked about, with just one day to prepare, there were a lot of compromises, intelligence showed, sacrifices, and growing.”
 

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