Charlotte FC has something to prove on Decision Day

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte FC forward Wilfried Zaha has nine goals and 11 assists in his first season with the Crown, who can clinch fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference Saturday with a win against Philadelphia Union.

Charlotte FC doesn’t have to prove they are a good team. 

Their 18 wins to date already endorse that. That ties them for the third most in MLS after 33 matches with Miami, Vancouver, and San Diego. The Union won the Supporters’ Shield with 20, while Cincinnati had 19. 
Charlotte’s nine-match winning streak over a 10-game unbeaten run demonstrated what they are capable of. A win at home on Saturday against Philadelphia Union, the MLS’s best regular season team, would be the perfect start to a six-game winning streak that would be capped with an MLS Cup win on Dec. 6. Saturday’s kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is 6 p.m. 

Why is it important?

Home advantage is truly an advantage for the Crown. Only Philadelphia has won as many home games (12) this season as Charlotte. A win on Saturday will put the Blue and White alone at the top of that list. 

Two games at Orlando last season worked against Charlotte. Always a difficult place to play for the Crown, Orlando won the first match 2-0. The second game in Charlotte was a 0-0 draw that the Crown won on penalty kicks.

Back in Florida, Charlotte took the lead on a Karol Swiderski goal in the 81st minute. Twelve minutes into added time, Orlando equalized and sent the game back to PKs. Both Biel and Swiderski were stymied while the home team scored all four of their kicks for the win.

Dean of calm

You won’t hear CLTFC head coach Dean Smith chattering about the myriad possibilities that Decision Day brings to where Charlotte will finish in the table. 

“We know what's at stake, and to be honest, we've been playing football like that for a long time. We know that we’ve had to play winning football to get to the position we’re in now. Because of the middle (losing) period we had in the league, we've been playing must-win games. 

He doesn’t care what New York City FC or Nashville, the two teams that could usurp Charlotte’s hold on fourth place, do and won’t be asking for scores during the match. 

“I won't be listening to see what's going on at other games,” Smith said. “It’s the job that we’ve got to do. We know we've got to go and win at home, so that's what we have to do.”

Even though they’ve clinched the Supporters’ Shield and home advantage throughout the playoffs, Smith is expecting the Union to put their best team on the pitch. 

“I'd like to congratulate Philly on winning the Supporters’ Shield, a great achievement, coming top in the regular season,” he said. “And I don't expect anything different from them because they’re going into a playoff period the same as us, the week after the game, and they’ll want their players who haven’t played for a couple of weeks to play. I wouldn’t expect them to miss or rest any players.

“I think what gives me confidence is the fact that we’re a team going into this game that’s won 10 of the last 12 games. I don’t think there’s anybody really with that sort of form in the last 12 games. So that’s what we have got behind us. We know what we can go and do against any team, and that’s what we have to do on Saturday.”

The Union have won five of their last six matches, two on the road. Charlotte is 1-0-2 against Philadelphia at Bank of America Stadium. 

No Pep squad

Smith confirmed on Thursday that Pep Biel will be out for the rest of the season due to a tendon injury. Biel started the season brightly for the Crown and was easily their most influential player in most of his appearances. This is a separate injury from the hamstring issues that limited his playing time during the latter part of the season.

Smith said, “he'll be looking at next preseason to start training,” which may or may not have been a slip regarding Biel’s status with the team. The 29-year-old Spaniard is on a second loan from Greek side Olympiakos, which was extended during the summer transfer window through season’s end.

In 26 appearances, including 24 starts, Biel scored 10 goals and passed for 12 assists. His 54 shots lead the team – Wilfried Zaha has 53 – and his 23 shots-on-goal are second-most to Zaha’s 27. Idan Toklomati leads the team with 11 goals (29 games) and has four assists, while Zaha has netted nine times and added 10 assists.

Biel was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday five times this season, including once as Player of the Matchday. Biel is second to Karol Swiderski in career game-winning goals with seven, and career goals and assists with 27 (12 goals). 

While Biel’s presence and abilities are surely a loss, Charlotte done well in his absence. After getting injured during the Leagues Cup match against Chivas on Aug. 3, he missed over a month of MLS play, including four straight wins until coming on as a late sub in the last win over Inter Miami. He last played 31 minutes as a starter against NYCFC on Sept. 20.

“I think it'll give the players certainly confidence,” said Smith, “knowing that we've already done it without Pep as well. It obviously would have been nice to have him coming back at this period, given the player he is, and you know the numbers that he's produced this season. But we know we can do it with or without Pep as well.”

Left back Harry Toffolo returned to training and may be an option for playing time against the Union. Smith would like to get him some minutes in preparation for the postseason. 

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