Charlotte FC can extend their perfect home record to six wins on Saturday night when they host the New England Revolution.
Charlotte (6-2-1, 19 points) has won its first five home matches under second-year coach Dean Smith while outscoring its opponents 13-2.
Most recently, that dominance continued last Saturday with a 3-0 drubbing of 10-man San Diego FC on goals from Liel Abada, Patrick Agyemang and Andrew Privett.
But because The Crown have only won once away, some are skeptical that Smith’s side can challenge the likes of Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew for Eastern Conference supremacy.
“Continue being skeptical,” Smith said. “It bothers me not one iota. You keep being skeptical. I’m just happy having my group of players do what they do, looking to get better, looking to improve.”
Abada and Agyemang are two of four Charlotte players to score at least twice.
Charlotte FC aren’t resting on their laurels. At Wednesday’s primary transfer window deadline, they completed a loan signing of CF Montreal defender Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty — though he won’t be available Saturday due to visa issues.
New England (3-4-1, 10 points) has won three of four coming into its trip to Charlotte.
In last weekend’s 2-0 home victory over New York City FC, offseason additions Leonardo Campana and Ignatius Ganago each scored their first goals for the club. They became the first Revs players other than Carles Gil to find the net this season.
As a group, the Revs have scored only six goals in eight matches (with one coming via an own goal). That’s the second-fewest in the Eastern Conference. But their seven conceded is tied with Charlotte and Columbus for the second-fewest in the East.
“Really, you would hope that one unlocks everything, but it just depends on the next game,” Porter said of last weekend’s performance. “It depends on how hard we play. If the players unlock the floodgates, then they will unlock it. It is not just going to happen easily.”
–Field Level Media
