Soccer
Just how immaculate are the vibes at Charlotte FC these days?
Many head coaches stew or seethe when a suspension forces them to watch a match from way up in the suite level, rather than their usual spot along the touchline.
But Dean Smith turned his exile from the technical area into a party on Saturday night, joining The Crown’s supporters in their traditional rendition of the ‘Poznan’ dance as Inter Miami visited Bank of America Stadium – and he even got owner David Tepper and technical director Tommy Wilson in on the fun, a moment beamed live onto the venue’s massive video screen.
This wasn’t some celebratory stunting in the final minutes of a comfortable victory, mind you: The CLTFC faithful do the Poznan at the opening kickoff.
Memorable evening
It was the curtain-raiser for an unforgettable night in downtown Charlotte. The hosts delighted their vibrant, euphoric crowd of 35,607 with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Lionel Messi & Co. to extend their winning streak to nine straight games, tying the MLS record for longest such run in a single season in the post-shootout era and running their league-best home record to 12W-2L-1D.
“It was always my plan to try and grab Dave to do it,” a grinning Smith later revealed of his recruitment of Tepper as a dance partner. “He wasn’t too sure he wanted to, I think. But I grabbed him – I wanted to do the Poznan for the fans. The fans give us amazing support, and it was good that we’ve gone and done that for them today.
“It’s not something I’m comfortable with, sat up there. But I was comfortable today because of the lads’ performance.”
OH WHAT A NIGHT ???? pic.twitter.com/tVIJQ57vIY
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) September 14, 2025
Star man
Smith could rest easy in large part because of Idan Toklomati. CLT’s young Israeli striker bagged the second hat trick in club history, while extending his run of goal contributions in seven straight matches. In six of those, he’s chipped in a game-winning goal or assist.
“First of all, that is the best moment and best team to play against to score a hat trick,” Toklomati said of logging such an achievement against star-studded Miami. “We are playing well and standing on nine games in a row when we win. I cannot even explain the feeling.”
It’s another reflection of Charlotte’s collective mood that he had his illustrious teammate Wilfried Zaha to thank for his third, which was converted from the penalty spot after Sergio Busquets fouled Zaha in IMCF’s 18-yard box. Zaha is The Crown’s designated PK taker, but he was generous to the attacking colleague, whom he later said has become like a little brother to him.
“We get a penalty, and I look at Wilf and he says ‘you want a hat trick?’ I look back at him, like ‘oh my god, he’s an angel,’” Toklomati later recounted. “I looked at him like an angel. After I scored the hat trick, I almost lost my mind. It was the best feeling I ever had.”
Game-changing goalkeeper
As devastating as the Israeli frontrunner was, CLT’s goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina had a pretty decent claim to man of the match honors, too.
The evening could have played out quite differently had he not stopped Messi’s first-half penalty kick, sniffing out the Argentine legend’s Panenka attempt mere moments before Toklomati opened the scoring, one of his four saves on the night.
“I was waiting for him, because normally from the first day when he came in MLS, he’s waiting [on] goalkeepers,” said Kahlina postgame of his faceoff with the GOAT. “I was just prepared and ready to wait as long as I can, and thank God that he chose to chip me. And it was a nice save, and one big thing for me in my whole life.
“Incredible night for us.”
This was Kahlina’s 10th clean sheet in league play, and afterward, Smith hailed the manner in which the ‘keeper has responded to the club’s head-turning August trade for Drake Callender, the backstop for Miami’s Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign last year.
“We brought Drake Callender in to put pressure on Kahli, and boy, has he stepped up to it,” said the coach. “We want pressure in each position in the team. That’s the only way a team evolves and gets better.”
Contending for the crown
That certainly describes CLTFC at the moment. Their hot streak has rocketed them up the Eastern Conference standings to third, three points ahead of fourth-placed Nashville SC with four games left to play and hot on the trail of leaders Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati.
Smith traced his side’s rampaging form back to the match before their current unbeaten streak began, a 3-2 loss at Chicago, where they trailed 3-0 at halftime but dug deep and stormed back, nearly snatching a point in the end.
“I’m really pleased for how the players have bounced back,” he said. “The season’s a marathon, it’s not sprint, and there’s going to be ups and downs. I’ve ran a few marathons, and I know there’s ups and downs within it. We’ve had some down times, during that spell when we were away from home a lot, but we showed an awful lot of character to come through that.
“There’s a real winning spirit about them.”
Read MoreLyndia Badon