Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith has a theme for his team going into Saturday night’s match against the visiting Philadelphia Union.
“No complacency,” he said.
It’s easy to see why that might be an issue. While Charlotte (2-1-2, 8 points) enters fourth in the East table after setting a franchise record for goals in a match with a 6-1 rout over the New York Red Bulls on March 21, Philadelphia fell to 0-5-0 with a 2-1 home defeat against the Chicago Fire.
Charlotte’s lone loss came at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Feb. 28. It went 2-0-1 in March, the draw coming March 14 when the Crown and Inter Miami posted matching clean sheets. Aside from the three goals it conceded to the Galaxy, Charlotte has yielded only three goals in the other four matches.
Smith is warning about taking a result for granted.
“Games aren’t played on paper,” he said. “They’re played on the football pitch. They’ve lost a center back, they’ve lost a left back and they’ve been a little unfortunate as well.”
Whatever the reasons, the Union have executed an unwanted 180-degree turn from the squad that last year won the Supporters’ Shield, given to the side with the best regular-season mark. Last week’s international break might have come at the right time.
Coach Bradley Carnell said his team has spent the bye week reflecting and looking for ways to get into the win column.
“There’s been a lot of meetings, a lot of chatting,” he said. “A lot of executing on the training ground and a lot of competition. The boys were grinding it out over the weekend. The boys have invested a lot and our full focus is on Charlotte.”
Carnell said maintaining discipline will be important. Twice this year, the Union has become a 10-man unit after a player earned a red card.
“We have to take a hard look at ourselves from the top down,” Philadelphia captain Alejandro Bedoya said.
Bedoya has two assists for the Union, who bring up the rear in MLS with three goals. Pep Biel has more than that on his own, leading Charlotte with four goals.
–Field Level Media
