Charlotte FC shuts out Cincinnati with 2 goals from Swiderski. Here’s what we learned
Charlotte FC extended its winning streak to two, defeating FC Cincinnati at home 2-0 on Saturday.
The Major League Soccer expansion team earned its first clean sheet in club history, and the new team demonstrated quick improvement from its three losing matches that opened the season.
Here’s what we learned from the win in front of 30,242 fans at Bank of America Stadium.
If the name fits ...
There’s a reason Polish striker Karol Świderski has been unofficially deemed “Karol Swi-goal-ski.” Named last weekend’s Man of the Match and to the MLS team of the week for his two goals against New England, Świderski repeated his sharpshooting performance against Cincinnati on Saturday.
He scored twice for Charlotte, again in the sixth minute, and then in the second half off a free kick in the 55th minute. Świderski scored his second goal from outside the box. It was a left-footed rocket to the top left corner of the net that secured Charlotte’s lead.
Świderski was questionable to start after a hamstring strain he picked up in last weekend’s game that kept him from joining Poland’s men’s national team for international competition during World Cup qualifiers. Head coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez called it a “last-minute decision” for Świderski to play, and that Świderski communicated that he was ready to start Saturday. He played up until the final stoppage time.
“(I’m) super proud of these kinds of players that even with pain and soreness, and a last-minute decision, say, ‘Coach, I prefer to go and take a risk,’ ” Ramírez said.
The team manager of Poland’s Men’s National and media officer of the Polish Football Association Jakub Kwiatkowski tweeted an email from Charlotte FC’s team doctor Brent Messick, which said that Świderski was diagnosed with a low-grade hamstring strain and that his anticipated return to play was one to two weeks.
The club declined to issue a formal response to the tweet.
Świderski has looked increasingly comfortable in his role as the franchise striker for Charlotte FC, and he’s expected to soon be joined by another Polish native, Kamil Jóźwiak, who signed with Charlotte FC from England’s Derby County. Jóźwiak is a winger who’s already overlapped with Świderski in Poland, and he said earlier that the two have chemistry on the attacking line that Charlotte FC can benefit from. With the club expecting Jóźwiak to arrive in early April after securing his visa, this seems like it’s only the beginning of Świderski’s goal-scoring highlight nights.
Fan favorite: Ben Bender
Fans got loud at Ben Bender’s first touch on the ball, and with good reason. Bender, the 21-year-old SuperDraft pick out of the University of Maryland, received a pass from Daniel Ríos approaching the left side of Cincinnati’s goal. He then fed a cross to Świderski, who fired a right-footed shot to the upper-left corner for Charlotte’s early goal.
It was another hot start for the young team, and again highlighted the play-making combination of Ríos, Bender and Świderski. It was Bender’s third assist in three matches, and he’s quickly become a fan favorite, as the crowd cheered nearly every time he touched the ball. He didn’t score off an opportunity in the 76th minute, when a shot by Ríos bounced off a touch by Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann with Bender in pursuit, but he still played the full match without looking fatigued.
With first clean sheet, Kahlina named Man of the Match
Although Świderski and Bender are early fan favorites, Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was named Man of the Match after helping the team record its first-ever clean sheet. Kahlina has so far played in goal for all of Charlotte’s games and recorded five saves on Saturday.
“The first time that I was ‘Man of the Match’ we lost against the LA Galaxy then. It was not so good of a feeling, but when you win the game, and a tough game like this ... this game takes us in the right way where we want to be,” Kahlina said. “We are in sight, in the game, for playoffs and we just need to keep this growing.”
Kahlina was challenged with high speed winds that he said made it difficult to track the ball, but said that he saw overall improvement from the team, including its defensive cohesion. Captain Christian Fuchs slotted into a center back role with Christian Makoun out for World Cup qualifiers with Venezuela and Joseph Mora played at left back.
“We need more time, even though we showed really good play from behind, game-by-game, but you need time for this because we grow up every week in one segment,” Kahlina said.
Midfield moves
The absence of midfielder Alan Franco for World Cup qualifying matches with Ecuador also provided an opportunity for new faces in Charlotte’s starting XI. Former Houston Dynamo midfielder Derrick Jones saw his first minutes and Charlotte’s first player signed, Sergio Ruiz, got the nod from the start.
Jones played as a defensive midfielder, with Bender on the left side and Jordy Alcívar on the right. Ruiz played higher on the pitch with Jones playing as a defensive midfielder. With the changes, the midfield might not have looked as comfortable holding the press, but it was an opportunity to see a different look in the lineup. Ramírez said that he wanted to see Jones against Cincinnati, based on his style of play.
“He did really well because he’s with us two weeks,” Ramírez said. “As I said during the week, he’s been so clever. Of course there’s still (building) this chemistry with the others to understand, to get a little bit more brave, to ask for the ball. He needs more confidence, but I’m happy with his performance.”
The Spanish coach was also complimentary of Ruiz’s performance, noting that it was the first time he started a match since September. Ruiz stepped away from soccer for multiple months to focus on his mental health last fall before joining Charlotte FC. Ramírez noted that, “We forget that sometimes (players) are human beings and they suffer and they have their own battles in their minds,” when speaking about Ruiz.
“It’s very special for me to play today, besides with a victory from the team, so I feel tired, but really happy,” said Ruiz, who recently welcomed a baby boy into his family. “I feel really comfortable with my teammates inside the pitch and you can see the stadium, the fans, are supporting us all the time, so I’m really happy. I’m really grateful. This is the only the beginning from us.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2022 at 7:05 PM.
