Charlotte FC eyes MLS record-tying ninth straight win

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte FC is one win from tying Seattle Sounders' MLS consecutive victory streak in its post-shootout era with Inter Miami up next on Sept. 13.

It was already building up to be an epic day in Charlotte FC history. 

After their first road win against the New England Revolution on Saturday gave the Crown eight consecutive wins, the chance to equal the Seattle Sounders' post-shootout record of nine is Sept. 13 against the vaunted Inter Miami with Lionel Messi and his Barcelona beach bros. 

That already guaranteed a large audience at Bank of America Stadium for the match, as MLS respects the international break where a diaspora of league players will represent their countries. 

As if it needed more drama than that, Charlotte (16-11-2) is third in the Eastern Conference on 50 points, while Miami (13-5-7) is sixth with 46 points. The twist is that due to participation in the FIFA World Cup and other events, the Herons have a whopping four games in hand to gain points against the teams ahead of them. 

For Dean Smith’s boys, who sat atop the Eastern Conference nine games into the season, the horrors of May and June are a distant memory. They are seven points behind table-leading Philadelphia and two behind second-place Cincinnati. Charlotte is fifth in the Supporters Shield standings topped by the Union.

But wait, there’s more…

Seattle set the consecutive wins record in 2018. Coincidentally, the Sounders may have an indirect part in how this all plays out because of their Leagues Cup final win against Miami on Sunday. 

The boys in green made several of the boys in pink see red after handing MLS’s glamour team a 3-0 pounding in front of 69,000-plus fans at Lumen Field. Seattle was strong in defense, opportunistic on offense and lucky as well with Messi missing from close range with only the keeper to beat. Tadeo Allende also missed the frame in similar fashion. Miami players were frustrated after the match, and some of them couldn’t let it go. 

According to various news reports, and visible on the live telecast video, Luis Suarez confronted Seattle midfielder Obed Vargas, who was the nemesis for Messi and Suarez much of the night, and put him in a headlock, and later, allegedly, though caught on video, spat towards the Sounders’ director of player security. 

While Suarez, a convicted biter, is no stranger to controversy, the normally calm Sergio Busquets was also reported to have accosted Vargas, putting hands to his face. Other Miami players, including unused substitutes, could be seen swinging at Seattle players and staff.

With two weeks to evaluate the situation, MLS could suspend one or more Miami players for league matches, beginning with the Charlotte game. 

Ream USA

Tim Ream is back with the U.S. Men’s National Team for matches against South Korea and Japan on Sept. 6 and 9. He was asked if there is an internal issue with coach Mauricio Pochettino putting 12 MLS-based players on the 23-man roster. While outsiders may argue the merits of what continent someone plays on, Ream, who competed nine seasons for Fulham FC before returning to MLS with Charlotte, said players don’t care, and don’t talk about.

"I think it's just competition in general,” he said. “It's one of those things where we don't really look at the roster and say, 'Oh, there's this many guys in from this league, or there's this many guys in from Europe.' To us, it's competition... You have to go out there and earn your place and earn your spot.”

In applauding the level of the American league, Pochettino has said, "We need to give MLS the value, because I think competing there, I think the player can show that they can perform in the national team. It's not necessary to move from MLS to Europe, because sometimes MLS, under my assessment, maybe is more competitive than some leagues in Europe.”

That was a caveat Smith mentioned in regard to Patrick Agyemang’s departure to the English Championship and Derby County. While the financial windfall for the 24-year-old striker could not be denied, it is still undetermined if he will get the playing time needed to further establish himself as a potential U.S. World Cup player next year. After scoring twice in the Gold Cup as a starter for Pochettino, Agyemang underwent surgery for a sports hernia in July, which ruled him out for this international window and the start of Derby County’s season.

Ream, who has 75 caps for his country, says Pochettino "is giving guys opportunities to impress, making sure that he can get eyes on everybody who they've been watching from, maybe from afar. And that sends a little bit of a message that places are open. And I think that's only a good thing.

"Competition can drive you and push you, it prepares you and hardens you for the coming months," Ream said.

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