The boys are back home and they need it.
It was a slog of Road Trip. Or more like a trip on the road – two home games in the past two months. It ended last Saturday with a 3-2 defeat in Chicago. Charlotte retaliated from 3-0 to halftime, but did not failed to a point far from his home.
Now it’s time for home cooking. Fans of Bank of America will be a welcome show.
Here are the ingredients of the match for the Charlotte FC to get back on the right track against Orlando City:
Charlotte is looking for more cohesion from front and back.
Mental gaps. That’s all – just these few unusual moments filled with errors. This was the big difference in the pickup of points in the last three games.
How are they doing? Together. The responsibility is essential, yes. But it is also a question of meeting as a unit and to believe in each other. Not a better place to recover this belief than at home with the fans behind you. It is up to the team to recognize this, to come together and to give the fans three points that they deserve at home.
The attack and the bottom line have their challenges by themselves. But it starts and stops in the midfield.
Dean Smith has tried several variations and combinations in the middle of the field to maximize the performance of Pep Biel, Ashley Westwood and the Trio ‘X’.
In HT of the Chicago match, Dean brought Djibril Diani and the game changed. Pep Biel moved to RW, and Diani fled to the left side of the midfielder. Diani was more powerful to win balls and connection passes. The latter being the most important. He connected his back to the front, finding Zaha and Biel in an open space to allow them to create. This player “X” in the trio has the most work to do; They must win balls, play defensively and move the ball to the field effectively. Eryk Williamson gives you more offensive prowess, Brandt Bronico gives you more engine in the middle, and Diani can sometimes give you a little of both.
So, will we see again against a team from Orlando who can also attack the way Chicago does? This seemed to work in the second half when Chicago continued to try a press, which opened Diani to connect in their half. Orlando will attack early in the same way, so Diani could be this crucial Lynchpin to operate the midfielder on the counter.
This could prove to be a crucial choice for Dean in this one, and he has three options to tactically adapt to the style of play and take him to Orlando in the middle of the field.
