Charlotte FC hopes to find the salve for a heartbreaking loss when they visit the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Charlotte FC (8-10-1, 25 points) was shattered by a 2-1 setback Wednesday night against Sporting Kansas City. They dominated much of the match – only to concede two goals two minutes apart in second-half stoppage time.
“That’s probably the defeat that has hurt the most of the defeats we’ve had this season because it’s a game that we had massive chances to go two up, three up, four up, and haven’t taken them,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said after the match. “… Two straight balls in the 94th and 96th minute shouldn’t undo us defensively.”
The club has struggled after a strong start to the season. On April 19, Charlotte improved to 6-2-1 with a win against San Diego FC. It’s been downhill since, however, with a 2-8-0 mark that includes a five-match losing streak from April 26 to May 17.
After scoring 16 goals in its first nine matches, Charlotte has managed just 14 during its current skid. At the other end of the pitch, the club has conceded 24 tallies over its past 10 matches after holding its opponents to a combined seven goals at the start.
Saturday’s match wraps up a stretch of four straight road matches for Charlotte, which is 2-8-1 as the visitors.
The Fire (7-7-4, 25 points), meanwhile, have a chance to leapfrog Charlotte and claim ninth place in the Eastern Conference. However, they own a 1-3-4 record at home. When they dropped a 1-0 decision to the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, it marked their second straight home loss by shutout.
The two setbacks come after a stretch in which they won four of five matches.
“These are the ups and downs of the season,” said Chicago coach Gregg Berhalter. “It’s perfectly normal. We don’t like it, but every team has to go through a journey and this journey includes a tough stretch for us where we lost two home games in a row and didn’t score a goal. … That’s where the hunger and desire comes in that we get to get back at it a couple of days later.”
Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers is enjoying a solid second season in MLS. The Belgian forward has already hit 10 goals on the season, matching his total from his debut campaign last year.
–Field Level Media
