Charlotte FC defeats first place FC Cincinnati on the road

Charlotte FC picked up three points with a big 3-1 win on the road against first place FC Cincinnati.

Charlotte FC was without Patrick Agyemang in the match due to a suspension for receiving a red card in the previous match. Iuri Tavares took Agyemang’s place as the starting striker for the match and made an impact quickly, opening the scoring in the 20^th minute when Ashley Westwood found him on a cross at the back post.

Charlotte added a second goal soon after the first. Charlotte won the ball from Cincinnati following a throw in then Westwood found Liel Abada in the box between defenders where he took the shot and found the back of the net to put Charlotte up 2-0 in the 22^nd minute.

Cincinnati was able to cut Charlotte’s lead to 2-1 in the first minute of added time in the first half with a goal from Luciano Acosta.

Cincinnati had a huge chance to start the second half when they were awarded a penalty for a handball in the box in the 47^th minute. Acosta stepped up to the penalty spot in the 48^th minute and shot to the right, but had his shot saved by Kristijan Kahlina.  Cincinnati kept possession of the ball following the penalty and was able to find the back of the net on a strike from Luca Orellano, but the goal was disallowed due to a player being ruled offside in the buildup.

Charlotte added to their lead in the 66^th minute with a corner taken by Westwood finding the head Kerwin Vargas for a goal to take a 3-1 lead, giving Westwood his third assist of the match.

Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson was sent off in the 72^nd minute with a straight red card for denial of goal scoring opportunity after a foul on Vargas. On the ensuing free kick, Westwood found Andrew Privett who headed the ball into the goal for what appeared to be his first career MLS goal, but after a VAR check the goal was disallowed as Privett was ruled offside.

Late in the match Charlotte FC midfielder Nick Scardina was subbed on to make his MLS debut.

The three goals that Charlotte scored matches a season high for goals scored in a match, tying the total scored against Toronto FC at home and Atlanta United on the road.

Charlotte was able to generate many chances in the match with 14 total shots, seven of them being on goal and three of them finding the back of the net. Cincinnati was able to generate even more chances than Charlotte with 21 total but had the same number of shots on goal and just the one goal.

The win did not move Charlotte up in the MLS Eastern Conference standings, leaving them in sixth place, just one point behind New York City FC in fifth place.

Charlotte FC will be returning to Ohio for their next match, this time taking on the defending MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, July 17.