Idan Toklomati scored early and Kerwin Vargas tallied late as Charlotte FC came away with a 2-0 victory against visiting New York City FC on Saturday night, winning for the first time in their past five matches.
Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made three saves for the clean sheet.
Charlotte (9-11-2, 29 points) won for the first time since May 31 at Toronto FC. Unlike a week earlier in a 2-2 draw with Orlando, Charlotte protected a two-goal lead.
New York City (9-8-4, 31 points) was playing in the first of four consecutive road matches. The team remained winless in matches in Charlotte.
Matthew Freese, who just returned from a stint with the U.S. national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, made one save for NYC.
Toklomati’s goal came in the 14th minute, assisted by Pep Biel. The pass from Biel on the left side connected with Toklomati, who was cutting toward the center of the goal mouth.
It was the 20-year-old Toklomati’s fourth goal of the season, with three coming in a four-match span.
The third goal of the season for Vargas snapped his five-match scoreless stretch, finishing by turning and firing a shot from just inside the top of the box for a 2-0 lead in the 81st minute. It was quite an individual effort before Vargas first controlled the ball and was denied on an initial shot before trying again and converting.
The start of the match was delayed for nearly 90 minutes because of weather concerns.
–Field Level Media
