Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Bingham rises to the challenge, Malanda continues to shine

By Sam Vanolinda

Photo Courtesy of Cisco Art

Charlotte FC played the famous Mexican side Cruz Azul for the second straight year at the Bank on Wednesday night. Despite plenty of chances for each team, great goalkeeping play and some questionable forward play left the game scoreless after 90 minutes.

The atmosphere almost felt European because of the way that Cruz Azul fans had shown up to the game, creating a competitive atmosphere between the players and the fans, which ended with a flair-up between Ashley Westwood and multiple Cruz Azul players, ending with multiple yellow cards and assistant coaches being sent off.

The Crown had the last laugh when a backup goalkeeper and man of the match David Bingham had two penalty saves in the shootout, securing Charlotte FC two points.

It was an impressive victory against a very prestigious team. “...that’s probably the best team we’ve played against all season. Cruz Azul are a very, very good football team.” Head Coach Dean Smith noted post-game.

Now all eyes are on the last game of the group stage. If Philadelphia beats Cruz Azul in regular time or through penalties, Charlotte FC will be through to the Round of 32.

Here is the stock up/down for Wednesday’s game.

Stock Up

David Bingham

It feels good that Charlotte FC has two capable goalkeepers on the team. Bingham’s stock rose rapidly on Wednesday; if it weren’t for him, Charlotte would have no chance to advance to the next round.

In addition to the two penalty saves, Bingham had an athletic diving save denying a powerful strike in regular time by the Mexican league leaders. 

Just as American Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik had remained ready on the sidelines for his name to be called, Bingham had waited on the bench and had a gold medal performance when called upon.

Penalty Takers

You have to credit the four men who stepped up and put away their penalties. Karol Świderski, Ashley Westwood, Patrick Agyemang, and Brandt Bronico.

They all showed composure after defending for much of the game. It was smart for Smith to keep Świderski on the field the entire game even though he was tired towards the end, because of his penalty-taking skills.

He started it, and each player followed up with good strikes of their own to keep Charlotte’s cup hopes alive.

Adilson Malanda

Malanda had a lot to deal with on Wednesday. As Smith said, Cruz Azul is a great team that is rarely held scoreless. Malanda defended well and had to make some last-stich efforts to keep the sheet clean.

Malanda had seven clearances, two interceptions, five recoveries, a block, and three duels won. He was regularly getting the ball to safety after the talented Cruz Azul players would whip in dangerous crosses or make fast runs toward goal.

The contract that was given to Malanda will look like a steal if he keeps improving and progressing. He is still so young and has a lot to learn, but already looks like an experienced professional early in his career.

Stock Down

Karol Świderski

I gave Świderski stock up for scoring his penalty, but he had an uninspiring game besides that. It isn’t easy when Cruz Azul had a majority of possession and had Charlotte pinned in for a good portion of the match.

That being said, Charlotte FC had a large amount of chances to counter-attack in both halves. Every time they had the ball in a positive position one of the attacking players would make a disappointing pass or lose the ball.

A handful of times The Crown had the ball on the break with more attackers than defenders back, and still could not produce many clear-cut shots.

Even when Świderski received a ball into the box, he was not decisive enough with his movement, and would often stop his dribble and end up losing possession before even a sniff at goal.

Charlotte still got two points and I’m sure against worse competition where Charlotte has more time on the ball Świderski will bounce back.

Tyger Smalls

Tyger Smalls has a lot of potential as a SuperDraft pick. Despite this, he does not appear to be at the MLS level in my opinion.

Every time he has touched the field this year there has been a dip in quality on offense. He does not look ready for the moment and speed of play in this league.

With some Crown Legacy minutes, he could end up being a great player, but the team needs to find a better option to bring off the bench.

Finding more depth will be crucial in the latter stages of the season.

Summary

A team’s character can be measured by their performance when they have to step up and take the most anxiety-producing kick in football. Charlotte showed that they have grit and determination on Wednesday night, winning on penalties against a better team.

It is a shame that their tournament survival is now in the hands of an Eastern Conference rival, but Charlotte fans must have faith in MLS, a league that has dominated Liga MX so far in the Leagues Cup.