PHOTO | TROY HULL

Six games into his stint as Charlotte FC interim coach, Christian Lattanzio is 3-2-1 with a two game win streak and sixth place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 26 points.

Twenty games into Charlotte FC’s inaugural season, it looks like handing the keys to interim head coach Christian Lattanzio was a great decision.

Since former head coach Miguel Ángel Ramirez’s firing on May 31, the Crown is 3-2-1, including their first road win and their second two-game win streak of the season. With 14 games left, Charlotte is sixth in the Eastern Conference, climbing up the ladder in the playoff race. Consider it significant progress, given where the team was before Lattanzio and the fact that this is year one for the expansion club.

Charlotte FC played 14 games under Ramirez filled with drama and disappointment. With a 5-8-1 record, 0-6-1 away, there seemed to be differences between the players and Ramirez as the season got off to a rocky start. Rumors of a team unhappy with Ramirez’s coaching style and broken player-coach relationships were backed by Christian Fuchs’ comments about the team’s relief after his departure.

With all of that behind them, Charlotte FC looks like it’s getting it together under Lattanzio.

Six games aren’t long, but for the Crown, it’s enough to notice a difference in how the team takes the pitch. The squad plays with more intensity, more together and more prepared under the new head coach, and as a result, they have picked up some wins against decent competition.

The most notable was their 2-0 win against the New York Red Bulls in Lattanzio’s first match as head coach. Charlotte was down key players in Fuchs and Karol Swiderski, but that did not hold them back from shutting out the East’s top team at home. Other players stepped up including rookie Ben Bender and Andre Shinyashiki, showcasing the roster’s depth and talent.

Even in their 1-0 loss against the West’s No. 1 team, Austin FC, the Crown dominated time of possession and would have won if they capitalized on their open goal opportunities.

What Charlotte’s latest explosion against Nashville indicated is that this level of play is becoming consistent. From Lattanzio’s first game to the most recent, it’s clear Charlotte is building something that can propel them to their first playoff appearance. All they have to do is build on the momentum they’ve created.

There’s still 14 games to go, which leaves room for things to go wrong. Lattanzio’s crew is going in the right direction, but still needs to pick up some road wins before there’s talk about him coaching Charlotte long-term. He will have a chance to improve on that away record in their next match at Inter Miami Saturday at 8 p.m.

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