A clean sheet result and wine return to Charlotte FC

CHARLOTTE FC

Charlotte FC midfielder Pep Biel's assist July 12 against New York City FC was his 17th goal contribution of the MLS campaign, setting a new club single-season record previously held by Karol Swiderski.

The wine deposits returned to Bank of America Stadium on Monday.

After weeks of struggle to get a result, Charlotte FC (9-11-2, 29 points) got one on July 12 with a 2-0 win against New York City FC. And as is custom since coach Dean Smith’s arrival, players were treated to wine as a reward for the clean sheet.

“It’s a good feeling,” center back Andrew Privett said. “It’s been a long time coming. We've had a tough run, especially defensively, so it was good to turn it around and get back on track.”

Charlotte’s defense was good enough – in results if not execution – to earn a clean sheet. The Crown, which is on the postseason cut line in ninth in the MLS East, a point behind New York Red Bulls, was shaky at times over a 20-minute stretch in the second half but avoided critical breakdowns that plagued them over the last month. The next test is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against D.C. United at home and Saturday at Atlanta United.

“In terms of how we defended our box, we were a lot better” against NYCFC, Smith said. “I still feel that we can get to the ball and effect play a little bit more than we did, especially the first 20 minutes of the second half, just get out and affect it. Make the ball go backwards. I thought we [were] half-hearted sometimes, and we thought we were close enough, and if the [opposing] team can play forward, then you're not close enough.

…“We got into good positions to defend our box really well. There's a couple of opportunities where we've given them, and most of their opportunities were from us … in individual errors or unforced errors, but our reaction to actually help our teammates out was really good, and it should give us a lot of confidence going into the next few games.”

Said Privett: “I felt like we kind of got back to our old selves. It felt like whenever one guy would get beat or pulled out of position, the next guy up was it was there to bail him out. I feel like we lost that a little bit in this last stretch, so I felt like we were getting back to the old ways.” 

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Forward Idan Toklomati (17), who has scored three goals in his last four games with Charlotte FC, is pushing to succeed Patrick Agyemang on a full-time basis.

While striker Patrick Agyemang’s transition to England second-tier side Derby County is a matter of when, not if, Charlotte continues to get historic production from midfielder Pep Biel, who collected his 17th goal contribution (seven goals and 10 assists) of the MLS season to set a new team record, topping Karol Swiderski's 16 in 2023. Biel, who joined Charlotte on loan last year from Olympiacos FC, has been a revelation as a playmaker and scorer. 

“We’re really pleased for him and that we brought him into the club,” Smith said. “We had a good look at him last year when he came in on loan and we liked what we saw. We liked his passion for the club, for the for the area, and that was one of the things, the character that he's got. The numbers can be misguided sometimes, because you lose his work rate as well. His work without the ball is excellent, but he does produce really good numbers. He produces good chances for team, for the team and his teammates, and he scores good goals as well. We’re really proud of what he’s doing at the moment.”

Another possibility in attack for Charlotte is Idan Toklomati, who has scored three goals in the last four matches in Agyemang’s absence. Toklamati, whose tally against NYCFC was his fourth of the season, has shown keen quality in the offensive end.

“Just keep scoring goals like he's doing and keep working hard like he's doing,” Smith said, “and that can make the absence of Patrick, less felt, and that's what he's got the opportunity to do. He looks like he’s taking it with both hands at the moment.”

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