‘The Bank will be rocking:’ Dean Smith hypes 12th man against NYCFC

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte FC's season hinges on winning the decisive Game 3 in their MLS first round playoff series against New York City FC Nov. 7 at Bank of America Stadium. Both sides have won on the road.

What’s the difference between two weeks and 16 weeks? 

Don’t bother with the math. The answer is a win on Friday night. 

If Charlotte FC triumphs over New York City FC at Bank of America Stadium, their next match will be two weeks later against the Philadelphia Union. A loss and the next official MLS match for the Crown won’t come until the 2026 season starts in late February.

The stats have been deceiving in the first two matches against NYYCFC. Except for a massive defensive lapse that allowed Alonso Martinez an express path to the winning goal, Game 1 in Charlotte was effectively a stalemate. 

Though Game 2 at Yankee Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw, the offensive stats favoring NYC in shots (18-8, 5-3 on target) did not tell the story of the match. There was plenty of evidence that Dean Smith’s lads are fully capable of extending their 2025 campaign further into November.

With Wilfried Zaha back in the lineup, Charlotte came out on the front foot, hitting the frame of the NYC goal twice in the first half. Kristijan Kahlina made the saves he’s supposed to without being severely tested. 

“I’ve said it all the way through: I think we’re two really evenly matched teams,” Smith said. “Only two or three points between us after 34 games, so it was never going to be a case of one team beating the other 3- or 4-nil.” 

During the regular season, both teams won at home 2-0. NYC won for the first time in Charlotte in that first playoff game against four losses since 2022. In 10 games against the Pigeons, the Crown have won five (including the playoff tiebreaker), lost three, and drawn twice. In overall scoring, Charlotte leads 12-9.

How to book passage to Philadelphia 

Now, back in Charlotte on a weekend evening, will the home advantage that boosted the Crown to a league-best 13 wins this season be a factor?

"We’ve worked hard to get that home game," said Smith. “Now we’ve got it, we’ve got to make use of it because both us and New York haven’t made use of home advantage so far.”

Said NYC manager Pascal Jansen: “I remember somebody telling me going into game No. 1, there was like a 32% or 30% chance that we would win that game. We beat the odds. We won there. 

“In order to beat a team like Charlotte, which is a very good team, well organized, you have to be very, very clinical on the ball, and you have to make sure that the moments that you get in order to open up the game, that you put those moments away.”

That’s pretty much how Smith has described Jansen’s team. Well-coached, well-organized, technically sharp, and capable of quick and lethal counterattacks. That these teams finished fourth and fifth in the table is a testament to their similarities.

The recipe for a clear victory for Charlotte? Bring team defense and the Great Wall of Kahlina that has seen the Crown to three clean sheets in the last four matches.
Exhibit the same craftiness that created Wilfried Zaha’s goal against Philadelphia and an excellent chance for Harry Toffolo at NYC when Idan Toklomati let the ball run through off crosses from the right to the far post runners on the left.

Deliver the service from the width that Nathan Byrne and Toffolo can provide, as well as from Zaha, Kerwin Vargas, Brandt Bronico, and Ashley Westwood inside and out. And most of all, they must be ruthless in their finishing that the top-scoring jewels of the Crown – Zaha (10 goals), Toklomati (11), and Vargas (6) – have proven they are capable of achieving. 

“We know a lot about each other,” said Smith, “but there’s still little bits that we can show the players. Where we can improve and where we have to do better. There’s a lot of stuff that we’ve done well, and we need to keep doing well.”

As possession goes, Jansen said, “The quality for us in possession has to be at a higher level, higher standard, which my boys are perfectly capable of doing.” 

Smith won’t care if NYC has more of the ball as long as the quality Jansen desires doesn’t materialize. Expect a press from Charlotte to limit NYC’s build from the back.

“You’ve got to work extremely hard, and the players know that,” Smith said. 

Critical of the Tuesday scheduling for the first match, which limited the crowd on a weekday night, he is looking forward to a more robust stadium atmosphere this time around.

“What we’re gonna have as well, Friday night, is the Bank will be rocking, and that’ll be our 12th man for us as well. We can all make this a special night for Charlotte."
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass with radio coverage on WFNZ 92.7 FM (English) and WOLS 106.1 FM (Spanish).

International break-ing news

While Charlotte’s Tim Ream will once again be called up to the U.S. national team during the November international break for games against Paraguay on Nov. 15 and Uruguay on Nov. 19, former Crown striker Patrick Agyemang will not. 

Coach Mauricio Pochettino has opted for Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), and Haji Wright (Coventry City) as his center forwards, along with Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake) and Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United) on the front line.

The MLS quarterfinals will resume on Nov. 22-23. The conference finals will be held on November 29 and 30. The MLS Cup will be played on Dec. 6.

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