NYCFC fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Charlotte on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena. The visitors took an early lead through Karol Świderski in the fourth minute before they were pegged back by a sensational long-distance drive by Maxime Chanot. Brandt Bronico scored in the 77th minute to give Charlotte the lead. A penalty from Christian Fuchs in injury time would confirm a 3-1 win for Charlotte.
New York City Football Club welcomed Charlotte FC on Wednesday night with both sides keen for a win. Interim Head Coach Nick Cushing made two changes to the side that lost to Inter Miami CF last time out, with Anton Tinnerholm and Héber replacing Nicolás Acevedo and Gabriel Pereira.
First Half
The Boys in Blue started on the front foot and some neat play down the right found Santiago Rodríguez in the box, but his cross was well claimed by Charlotte’s goalkeeper.
It would be the visitors that struck first, however, after engineering a crossing opportunity down their right ended up with Karol Świderski shooting on goal – VAR confirming Sean Johnson’s brilliant point blank save was not enough to keep it out.
In the 12th minute a flowing move that started with a cross-field pass by Tinnerholm eventually fell to the feet of Héber in the box, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper.
The flow of the game did not change with the goal, and NYCFC continued to push and dictate proceedings. A smart move involving Rodríguez and a dummy from Héber allowed Thiago Andrade to shoot on goal, but his effort was well smothered by the goalkeeper.
In the 28th minute, NYCFC found their equalizer when a square pass by Alfredo Morales found Maxime Chanot at the top of the box and he unleashed a ferocious effort that flew into the net.
What went down between #NYCvCLT 📼 pic.twitter.com/msLQAblWgm
— New York City Football Club (@NYCFC) August 18, 2022
That gave NYCFC a renewed sense of energy and with that they now sniffed a chance to go ahead. As the half drew to a close Morales fancied his luck from distance, but he was closed down.
Second Half
The second half saw no changes for either side, but an early test for Sean Johnson after a giveaway by Thiago Martins – the Club Captain denying Kerwin Venegas with a great save down low to his right.
NYCFC were forced into their first change of the evening in the 54th minute when Morales injured his groin in a tackle – Justin Haak replacing him. The 69th minute saw three of NYCFC’s Brazilian contingent connect as Talles Magno fed Thiago Andrade and he squared it to Héber, but his effort was well saved again by the goalkeeper.
Despite NYCFC’s dominance, it would be Charlotte that found the game’s third goal after Świderski played Brandt Bronico in inside the box and he finished past Johnson. With ten minutes of regulation time remaining Cushing introduced Gabriel Pereira in place of compatriot Thiago Andrade. Five minutes later, Chris Gloster checked in for Malte Amundsen.
As injury time approached Charlotte were awarded a penalty after a foul by Gloster was reviewed by VAR. Christian Fuchs converted the subsequent kick. That was enough to secure Charlotte all three points and confirm a 3-1 defeat for NYCFC.
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Sunday, August 21, 2022 6pm ET – MLS Regular Season Matchday 26 v. Chicago Fire FC. Tune-in: YES App | nycfc.com/radio | ESPN+