WASHINGTON - Charlotte FC contested the odds on Opening Day and the odds were won.
Only one of the eight teams that have joined MLS since 2016, LAFC have scored points from their opening match. And newcomers to Carolina joined that trend Saturday evening at Audi Field, suffering almost every unfortunate boom that D.C. A 3-0 loss to United could have been imagined, by an impressive pack of supporters nearly 400 louder away from Queen City.
ITS TIME!!!! pic.twitter.com/AH0jSzxWMv
— Mint City Collective (@MintCityColl) February 26, 2022
As has often been the case with expansion parties, the joy of taking their first fully competitive moves together was dampened by the cold, harsh realities that came with it.
"It was a privilege to be out there, I mean, for me, especially," midfielder and North Carolina native Brandt Bronico said postgame. “To start and play the game for the first time for this club and make history is a dream come true. Everyone was very excited. We got a great atmosphere from our traveling fans. And though the outcome did not suit us, I am proud of those people and the work they have done.
"I thought we were controlling most of the game," he said, "and if you look at the opportunities that they had, it was a penalty, a deflection goal and then one of our goalkeepers. And the deflection ended up in the target.. So it's not like they were creating too many chances."
CLTFC and their fans celebrated with joy that it was their first goal as Titi Ortiz bravely stuck his head in traffic in the 19th minute to defeat DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid, only for a video review to erase it. For. The hosts were then gifted a penalty kick - converted by Michael Estrada - on a very harsh handball decision against the Bronco, with Charlotte frustrated by an unfair foul on United in the buildup.
Estrada struck again in the dying seconds of injury time of the first half, as his speculative shot from the range took a large deflection from defender Christian Fuchs and flew off a misaligned Kristijn Kahlina to double the deficit, and Went home which is a tough climb year 1. To be for nascent teams like them.
"These two situations were simply unfortunate," Fuchs said. “When you hit a hand from such a short distance… handball rules, there is always controversy. But what is most important to me is how the team sees the game, how we applied ourselves to the game, even though we were 2-0 down, we tried to play our way. We entered the second half, we were running non-stop. We were fighting amongst ourselves. We did not give up, we believed in ourselves.
"And you know, it's the beginning of a journey. The group we're in, the club we're in, we've been together for five weeks, six weeks. Nobody ever said it would be easy."
Head coach Miguel ngel Ramírez was an active presence in his technical field for more than 90 minutes, communicating with his players in a fashion that suggested ample teachable moments as he sought to make sense in his positional playing system. used to work for
The Spaniard has lamented the current lack of top-tier attacking threat in his roster and here he has chosen to play Ortiz, who usually works as the No. 10 or winger, in a 5-4-1 formation. As a lone striker on the tip of . , He liked his side's organization and movement in the buildup, but noted, "Of course, it is better to have a striker to complete these tasks," as the CLTFC lamented the lack of an edge in front of the goal.
"I believe we were able to recognize the game we needed to play in the second half," Ramirez said. “So we were controlling the match better and playing less direct as we did in the first half. So we had a lot more control and better quality arrivals, possibilities. And I tried to show them that we are doing exactly what we need to do, to arrive with more control and better quality.
“As I said before the first match, the best coach and the best teacher is the competition. So the competition will tell us what we need to improve and where we are going."
Named player Karol Swiderski still awaits resolution of work permit issues in Poland, with young Brazilian Vinicius Melo injured and Daniel Rios (who did his best as a second-half substitute) in this week's trade from Nashville SC. Arrived anew through Charlotte, Charlotte's options are limited.
He hopes the outlook will improve significantly in time for next weekend's much-anticipated home debut March 5 versus the LA Galaxy at what is expected to be the packed Bank of America Stadium. If the enthusiasm of their travel support was any indication, it's loud and passionate to be in, too.
"Wonderful," said Ramirez of fans, reminding his players to salute him after the final whistle. "We felt your energy and we need you - we need you, because this is just the beginning and with the help of our supporters it will get easier."
While moral victories are the thinnest of gruesome, Charlotte knows the history of the detail they face, and sees signs of a resilient spirit that can help her endure it.
“Our team now has the qualities to be a solid team, to be a competitive team. That is our main focus right now to get to this level,” said the veteran Fuchs. “You saw a glimpse of our potential today. But we still need to learn a lot. So that's also a big reason to be patient."