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\nTROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST
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\nWilfried Zaha’s return from a one-game suspension returns a potent mix of passing and shot creation for Charlotte FC in their do-or-die match in Game 2 of their series against New York City FC.
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It\u2019s all come down to this. Ninety minutes in New York City on Saturday will put an immediate definition on Charlotte FC\u2019s 2025 season.<\/p>\n
Falling 1-0 to New York City FC in the first match of a best-of-three first-round series has made game two at Yankee Stadium a knockout game for the Crown.<\/p>\n
Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Apple TV\u2019s MLS Season Pass. The radio call will be on WFNZ 92.7 FM.<\/p>\n
Game 1 did not play out as expected for the team with the most home wins (13) in MLS this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first 10 minutes was OK,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe’ve had a chance. They’ve had a couple of shots from the edge of the box, then we just got really sloppy in our play. Thought we gave the ball away too cheaply.\u201d\u00a0
\u201cI said to the players, it didn’t quite feel like last year’s playoff game,\u201d he followed. \u201cThere was an excitement last year when we was at home, and it felt more like an expectation rather than the excitement of playing in a (home game). We\u2019ve worked really hard (over) 34 games to get a home game, and we\u2019ve probably given that away in the advantage of that away in the first half performance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s must-win time in Game 2.<\/p>\n
Zaha returns<\/p>\n
The absence of Wilfried Zaha was clear, not so much for his goal scoring and first assists but everything else he brings, especially with Pep Biel out for the season. Charlotte has many good players, but Zaha is on another level when it comes to his ability to see what might be and many times make that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He and Biel were paramount this season in finding teammates with leading passes that created chances on goal directly or indirectly. The assist before the assist, or even the playmaking pass before that.\u00a0
Picture Steph Curry in cleats, or Larry Bird, or Steve Nash. All were brilliant at putting the ball in the right spaces – most times simple, sometimes spectacular – which gave their teammates the confidence to make the runs. That\u2019s who Biel and Zaha have been for the Crown.<\/p>\n
Zaha\u2019s skill in tight spaces with the ball commands attention, often drawing double, sometimes triple teaming from defenders, which Smith says opens up the field for other players.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Observers of the game warn NYC will be ready to target Zaha, hoping to agitate him into another foolish mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t think for a second that NYCFC isn’t going to try to figure out a way, because if I’m an opponent coach, the moment I play Charlotte FC, I’m already going to be acutely aware of what Wilfred Zaha is capable of doing,\u201d noted former MLS centerback Brian Dunseth, co-host of SiriusXM FC\u2019s Counter Attack show. \u201cYou know what I do? Persistent infringement by committee. Seeing if I can do anything in my power to get under the dude’s skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s nothing new. According to MLS stats, Zaha has been the most-battered player in the league with 125 fouls received in 31 games, an average of 4.03 per game. That\u2019s just for the ones that are called. New England\u2019s Carles Gil was second with 102.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as it\u2019s managed properly, I\u2019ve got no qualms,\u201d said Smith. \u201cWilf is used to it. He\u2019s used to it in a higher league as well. We\u2019ll be ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte\u2019s expecting a strong game from Zaha.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to bring hunger from him,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe wanted to be playing in that first game. That\u2019s what he came in for, to get us to the playoffs and then to try and go and win the playoffs. So, to miss that first one hurt him, and obviously hurt us as a team as well. He’ll be going all out to go and get the win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Timing is right<\/p>\n
That this match comes just four days after Game 1 is good for Charlotte. The sting of Tuesday\u2019s loss is still fresh. The Crown were in good form at the close of the regular season with two straight wins and victories in 11 of the last 13 matches. Somehow, a 10-day wait to start the playoffs dulled that inertia.<\/p>\n
The 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Kristijan Kahlina, said the gap is no excuse, but it throws off the predictable rhythm that professional athletes get accustomed to.\u00a0
\u201cWhen somebody gives you 10 days before such a big game in front of you, and obviously, it is our advantage to play (a) home game, it makes (a) mess, not between us, but like, how (do) you prepare yourself? Because you don’t have normal week, you don’t have short week, you have really long week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, we are angry (with) ourselves, but now we know what we need to do. We just need to go to New York, bring the energy, first of all, and compete for win and come back (for) third game.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just the wait but also the scheduling that did not favor Charlotte\u2019s home advantage. Smith hasn\u2019t been shy about his feelings for playing on a Tuesday night. A weekday school night, as well as the questionable weather conditions going in \u2013 it turned out to be a chilly but dry evening for the game \u2013 most definitely diminished the usual size and power of the home crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe distribute 34,000 tickets, and got 21,000 there,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThe fans that were there made a really good noise, but the feeling wasn’t like it was against Orlando at home last year. The playoffs are meant to be everything in the MLS. So I just felt we could have played Friday. Why not?<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve got lots of people who live close to me, who couldn’t make the game because of their kids on a school night, and that’s understandable. And listen, I’m trying to support our supporters. It would have been great to have a full lower bowl there, behind us for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damn Yankee Stadium<\/p>\n
As much as the unusual confines of their baseball stadium pitches are, NYCFC is not invincible at home. They lost six times this season, most recently 2-1 to Seattle on Decision Day, though that was at Citi Field. Their last loss at Yankee Stadium was a 2-1 defeat to DC United on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n
Charlotte fell 2-0 there on Sept. 19. Though NYCFC dominated offensive stats (15-5 shots, 5-2 on target), both goals came from penalty kicks, and a Matt Freese save against Zaha.
Kahlina contends it\u2019s not just the smaller dimensions that favor the home team but because it\u2019s a non-traditional soccer, or even NFL, stadium, there is a lack of familiar orientation inside the overall building that can affect visiting teams, especially when defending the net.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe side of the field where it\u2019s completely empty gives a different perspective of the field,\u201d he said, noting that the lack of traditional reference points in a rectangular stadium will also be different in each half.<\/p>\n
According to Smith, Game 1 is in the past. The Crown is all-in on bringing a deciding match back to Charlotte.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are over it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think (by) halftime, we got over it, because the second half was a much-improved performance. We didn\u2019t quite create the big chances. I thought they defended their penalty box really well. The lads are ready for this game at Yankee Stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n
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