Despite going down to ten men, Charlotte FC eked out a tense home victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday evening.
An early Idan Toklomati goal made the difference for Charlotte (6-6-3, 21 points), who will ride a two-game winning streak into the World Cup break. Charlotte lost their May 4 matchup against the Revs (8-5-1, 25 points) 1-0, but Saturday’s victory means they will split the season series.
Kristijan Kahlina ended the night with three saves and a clean sheet, his first in ten games for the hosts. Matt Turner finished with four saves for the Revs.
Toklomati scored the game’s lone goal to put Charlotte ahead in the 16th minute. After receiving the ball from Will Cleary in the middle of the box, the Israeli attacker deftly beat his marker with his first touch and, with his second, directed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal. The opener marked Toklomati’s fifth goal of the MLS campaign.
The Revs struggled to create chances throughout the first half and largely settled for long-range, low-quality shots. The closest New England came to equalizing was Carles Gil’s 32-yard free-kick that forced a diving save from Kahlina. In contrast, Charlotte repeatedly tested Turner, who made several vital saves and clearances for the Revs.
After a few minutes of back-and-forth action, Charlotte went down to ten men when back David Schnegg earned his second yellow card of the night. Schnegg was booked after he dragged down Peyton Miller on the edge of the box. Their numerical disadvantage forced Charlotte to play on their back foot for the rest of the match.
Although New England held most of the possession, they didn’t have the chances and shots to show for it. Despite holding over 60% of the possession, the Revs had three fewer shots on target than Charlotte. Miller came the closest to putting the Revolution on the board in the 60th minute when his low, driven shot was parried away by Kahlina.
–Field Level Media
