Charlotte FC start the Christian Lattanzio era with 2-0 win over Red Bulls The away side started strong after the first five, ten minutes but then faded as the match wore on. Ben Bender scored the opening goal just before halftime, and Derrick Jones added a tap-in late in the contest for Charlotte. Carlos Coronel did his best to keep the Red Bulls in it, but they’ve now suffered their second straight road defeat.
Charlotte FC start the Christian Lattanzio era with 2-0 win over Red Bulls
Team News
For Charlotte, interim manager Christian Lattanzio rolls out the following lineup. Kristijan Kahlina is in goal. Veterans Joseph Mora and Harrison Afful are the fullbacks, captain Guzman Corujo and Anton Walkes are the centerbacks. Brandt Bronico, Christian Ortiz and Ben Bender are in midfield; Orrin Gaines II and Andre Shinyashiki are the wingers. Daniel Rios leads the line in attack. Christian Fuchs is out with injury, Karol Swiderski is away on international duty.
For the Red Bulls, Carlos Coronel is in goal. Sean and Dylan Nealis partner Tom Edwards as the center backs, John Tolkin and Lewis Morgan are the wingbacks. Dru Yearwood and Frankie Amaya are in the middle of the park, with Omir Fernandez and Luquinhas flanking striker Patryk Klimala. Aaron Long is on international duty, while young Daniel Edelman is in the US U-20 youth team. Cristian Casseres Jr is in the league’s health and safety protocols, per the club. Defender Juan Castillo was signed to a short-term loan from USL-affiliate Red Bulls II ahead of this game.
Charlotte lineup (4-1-4-1): Kristian Kahlina; Harrison Afful, (C) Guzman Corujo, Anton Walkes, Joseph Mora; Brandt Bronico; Orrin Gaines II, Christian Ortiz, Ben Bender, Andre Shinyashiki; Daniel Rios
Charlotte subs: George Marks, Jan Sobocinski, Jaylin Lindsey, Koa Santos, Sergio Alonso, Jordy Alcivar, Derrick Jones, Kerwin Vargas, Yordy Reyna
Red Bulls lineup (4-2-3-1): Carlos Coronel; John Tolkin, (C) Sean Nealis, Dylan Nealis, Tom Edwards; Dru Yearwood, Frankie Amaya; Lewis Morgan, Omir Fernandez, Luquinhas; Patryk Klimala
New York subs: Ryan Meara, Jason Pendant, Juan Castillo, Cameron Harper, Caden Clark, Zach Ryan, Tom Barlow, Ashley Fletcher
First Half: Ben Bender opens the scoring just before halftime
The Red Bulls were having their way in the opening five to ten minutes. Pressing up the pitch early, they caused turnovers but couldn’t turn those into goal-scoring chances. Carlos Coronel was called into action a few times, showcasing his sweeper-keeper skills to erase any danger. It was a hot day in Charlotte, there was a drinks break enacted. The game opened up a bit as there were openings in midfield and free spaces down the wing.
It was a neutral half for the most part. Until the goal came from young Ben Bender. The American brought down a pass by Ortiz, took a touch and launched one outside the box, that went in the net via deflection from Tom Edwards. It’s Bender’s third goal of the season, and a deserved lead at the break. The Red Bulls dropped off and couldn’t maintain their momentum as the half wore on and it showed.
Why not have a go, Ben Bender?!
A deflected effort puts @CharlotteFC on top. pic.twitter.com/AHuIrfUnta
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 11, 2022
Charlotte held a 68%-32% possession advantage, and outshot New York seven-to-two. Four yellow cards in the game, two for each side.
Second Half: Derrick Jones seals a big win for Charlotte FC
Ashley Fletcher entered the match for Omir Fernandez. Charlotte seemed to carry their first-half momentum into the second half, but then an incident occurred. Fletcher fell down in the box and referee Guido Gonzalez initially pointed to the penalty spot. However, VAR intervened and overturned the ruling, no penalty for New York. Cameron Harper entered the match for Lewis Morgan. Caden Clark subbed in for Patryk Klimala. Sergio Ruiz entered the match for Christian Ortiz for Charlotte.
Caden Clark was issued a yellow card for a foul on Shinyashiki. He nearly put the game to bed as he was through on goal, but Coronel once again kept the Red Bulls in it. Tom Barlow entered the match for John Tolkin. Derrick Jones scored a tap-in off a nice sequence of play to give Charlotte a big 2-0 win. Despite being outshot five-to-four in the second half, Charlotte provided three more shots on target and scored to put the game away. A great start to the Christian Lattanzio era.
"Bedlam in the Queen City!"@21_djones completes a slick move to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/rAvF8eBera
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 11, 2022
Three Takeaways from Charlotte FC vs New York Red Bulls
We tried to warn you… https://t.co/tMZ1oY2H3u pic.twitter.com/WOQS4G7vaS
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) June 11, 2022
Charlotte gets the new manager bounce. It was the perfect Saturday afternoon for the Charlotte FC and interim manager Christian Lattanzio. They were able to overcome the early goings of the match and eventually played their game. Once Bender scored, the tension was gone and they could capitalize on mistakes by the Red Bulls. They should’ve scored more but a 2-0 win nonetheless gets rid of the noise that surrounded them after firing Miguel Angel Ramirez. A big win for the Charlotte.
Second straight Red Bulls loss on the road. It was a slow-burning disappointment for a Red Bulls side that only mustered one shot on target the entire game. Luquinhas was a non-factor, Patryk Klimala brought nothing and was subbed off, while Ashley Flethcer returned and didn’t do much either. Whatever Gerhard Struber said during drinks breaks and halftime didn’t resonate, as they’ve now lost two straight on the road. Next week is a home game against Toronto FC, where they’ll need to straighten things out.
Ben Bender is impressive. The young 21-year-old was great, ran the show from the first whistle. His goal came off a deflection but he made his own luck and is impressing with each game. Bender also helped with blocks and clearances when defending, a true man-of-the-match display. He deservedly got a good ovation when he was subbed off, Charlotte have a good one on their hands.
