TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST


Charlotte FC, which is fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference with 11 points, heads to Citi Field Saturday for a match against New York City FC, which also has 11 points. 

The past isn’t prologue for Charlotte FC.

Saturday’s match against New York City FC at Citi Field isn’t a carryover from last year’s playoff series the Crown lost 2-1. It’s a different season and different rosters trying to earn three points.

“They were better than us over the over the three games, so we had no complaints,” midfielder Ashley Westwood said. “But again, they’re a different team, we’re a different team. It’s a new season, so we want to go there and try and embrace the difficult circumstances, obviously the tighter pitch, the stadium. We want to go there and challenge ourselves and show how far we’ve grown.”

Charlotte (3-2-2, 11 points) coach Dean Smith agreed.

“In terms of their team, the way they play hasn’t changed that much,” he said. We know a lot about each other. We played each other five times last season, so there wasn’t much [unfamiliar] between both teams. It’s funny how the game is played sometimes, because I thought our best two games were the last two playoff games. We won the one on penalties and lost the other one on transitions.”

Charlotte, which went 3-1-1 during a five-game home stand, has struggled away from Bank of America Stadium. The Crown has yet to score a win in two games – a tie at St. Louis and a loss at Los Angeles Galaxy. To keep pace in the Eastern Conference, they’ll have to get results during a four-match road swing.

“I think we need to start the game well,” Westwood said. “Whenever we start the games well at home, it looks like we go on to have a good result. We didn’t do that against Nashville, and we lost the game. So, I think the message for tomorrow would be to first 15-20 minutes was I think we should go after them and really put a mark on the game, and that sets the tempo for the game. 

“I think that’s something that we need to be more conscious of – starting the game right, preparing ourselves better and hopefully we take it from there and win the game.”

A win at New York City Saturday would vault Charlotte into fourth place in the East and depending on results for Inter Miami (12 points) and Chicago Fire (13 points) could rise to second. It won’t be an easy path but the opportunity awaits.

“When you look at the fixtures, we’ve got a few away games now,” Westwood said. “We knew we didn’t start the season so well, but we’ve picked up at home, so we have to carry that momentum forward now to the away games. There’s no better place to start than New York City. I think they’re one of the better teams in the league. It’s a tough place to go. It’s different, so it’s a great test.”

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