Charlotte FC opens tough stretch at home Wednesday vs. Union

Charlotte FC hasn’t moved into “must-win” territory yet, but the Queen City side would be well-served to come away with three points from its Wednesday night MLS match with the Philadephia Union.

The two sides will kick it off at 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium.

Charlotte, sitting three points outside a playoff spot, has seven remaining matches. The next three are against teams sitting at or near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, and only Wednesday’s is at home.

Charlotte FC has been tough to beat at home lately, having lost only once in the past 12 matches at Bank of America Stadium. Problem is, the Queen City team hasn’t won many of those matches either, with seven ties.

Philadelphia, fourth in the MLS East, beat Charlotte 1-0 at home earlier this season.

Charlotte FC coach Christian Lattanzio said he realizes that the number of regular-season matches is dwindling but added, “I don’t like the word ‘desperation.’ ”

“Our approach is always the same, as strong and determined as ever,” he added. “We keep going, we keep working. There are no shortcuts in life.”

Charlotte is coming off one of its most frustrating outings of the season — a 0-0 tie at home Saturday against DC United, which occupies the ninth (and final playoff) spot in the standings.

“I know people want to see us win,” Lattanzio said. “We all want that. But as a coach, I want to see us going in the right direction.”

Last year, Charlotte finished with a 13-18-3 record and was ninth — one season before the playoffs were expanded to include the ninth-place finisher.

Lattanzio said he knows some people might see this season’s 11th-place position as regression.

He says that is not the case.

“The vibe I get sometimes is that people identify the result with the performance,” he said. “I know we’re in the results business, but it’s important to see us making improvement. And we are making improvement.”

Charlotte’s big problem has come in the opposition’s end of the field, with an inability to create scoring chances or take advantage of those that appear. Lattanzio said he will continue to play strikers Enzo Copetti and Karol Swiderski at the same time, in hopes to creating more chances.

“I believe these two players can help us go where we want to go,” he said.

On TV, radio

Wednesday night’s match is available to fans on Apple TV. On radio, the game can be heard on

WFNZ-FM (92.7, in English) and WOLS-FM (106.1, in Spanish).

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle