Charlotte FC defeats Cruz Azul on penalties; keeping Leagues Cup hopes alive

Charlotte FC stayed alive in the Leagues Cup with a penalty shootout win over Cruz Azul.

Charlotte FC made some changes to the starting XI in the match, most notably of which was starting David Bingham in goal for his first minutes of the season, giving Kristijan Kahlina a match off. A couple other changes to the lineup were Jaylin Lindsey starting at right back, his first start with the first team since the 3-0 loss to Minnesota United on April 21 and Nikola Petković starting in midfield, his first start since the 0-0 draw against Philadelphia on May 25.

Charlotte struggled in the first half although they were able to create a few chances that they were not able to capitalize on by taking the shot. Cruz Azul controlled the ball in the first half, holding 80 percent possession and had many chances, forcing Bingham to make a couple saves. Cruz Azul’s defense played well, pressing Charlotte and causing some mistakes and errant passes that contributed to Charlotte only having a single shot registered in the first half.

Charlotte played better in the second half, generating more shots, although they still struggled with the final ball and couldn’t put up many dangerous shots on the Cruz Azul goalkeeper.

Charlotte’s defense dealt with the pressure from Cruz Azul well throughout regulation, facing 21 total shots from Cruz Azul with only four of those being on goal. Charlotte’s defense also made eight clearances. The Charlotte attack struggled in buildup due to Cruz Azul’s press, causing Charlotte to play many long balls over the top to try to create chances, this led to Charlotte being ruled offside six times throughout the match.

The match was very physical with Cruz Azul committing 10 fouls and Charlotte committing five. The second half was no exception, a foul on Ashley Westwood in the 62^nd minute caused a heated exchange of words and shortly after that Brandt Bronico committed a foul and was given a yellow, kicking off a scuffle where a Cruz Azul player came in a shoved Bronico to the ground, receiving a yellow himself. Westwood came in to defend his teammate and had his shirt ripped. Westwood was also shown a yellow card following the scuffle. Before play restarted, both teams had red cards given to assistant coaches.

With regulation ending in a 0-0 draw, the match went to a penalty shootout. Both teams made their first penalty. Westwood stepped up and made Charlotte’s second penalty followed by a save from Bingham to put Charlotte up 2-1. Both teams made their third penalty to make it 3-2. Bronico scored Charlotte’s fourth penalty. Bingham made his second save in the shootout on Cruz Azul’s fourth penalty to give Charlotte the 4-2 win, keeping their hopes alive for Leagues Cup.

For Charlotte to advance to the knockout stage they need help from Philadelphia. Philadelphia hosts Cruz Azul on Sunday, August 3 in their final group stage match. A win from Philadelphia would send Charlotte through, while a loss would eliminate them.