Soccer <\/p>\n
Charlotte FC<\/a> are back in a big way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crown’s recent dip in form gave them a sense of desperation heading into Saturday’s home match against the Columbus Crew<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charlotte delivered on the pressure, notching a 3-2 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Credit to the players today,” said head coach Dean Smith postgame. “Because it’s really difficult playing against a team like that, where you have to defend well, especially after going 120 minutes for some of the players on Wednesday.<\/p>\n “So you know, really proud of them today with that performance and that result against a really good team.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The club\u2019s top talent, particularly the attacking trio of Patrick Agyemang<\/a>, Pep Biel<\/a> and Wilfried Zaha<\/a>, led the way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Agyemang, who was recently named to Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s 27-man USMNT<\/a> pre-Gold Cup<\/a> roster, had arguably the biggest impact at Bank of America Stadium.<\/p>\n After Columbus’ Ibrahim Aliyu<\/a> opened the scoring, Agyemang equalized in the 19th minute, getting on the end of an in-swinging corner from Biel.<\/p>\n Just five minutes later, he bagged the brace. Zaha drew two players near the sideline and placed a gorgeous through-ball into the path of Agyemang, who timed his run perfectly and needed only one touch to roll the ball into the corner.<\/p>\n With his pair of tallies, Agyemang became the second player in club history to record multiple multi-goal games.<\/p>\n “I thought they looked a real threat every time they got it,” Smith said of his attack. “I thought they linked up really well. The third goal was really good link-up play, as well. But some of the big chances had come from that.<\/p>\n “We spoke about how Columbus like to counterpress and commit bodies forward and leave one-on-ones. And if you’ve got Patrick Agyemang one-on-one, then you use it. And we used it every time.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The 24-year-old striker, who produced 10g\/5a for Charlotte last season, has been finding his form of late, scoring five goals in his last six games across all competitions, including three straight matches.<\/p>\n He’s been just as effective since making his international debut in January, scoring three times in four appearances for his country.<\/p>\n “It was great, definitely wanted more, but time will come with that,” Agyemang remarked with a wry smile when asked about his brace.<\/p>\n “I was definitely happy. As a striker you want to help the team, especially when we went 1-0 down and to be able to bring us back to 2-1, with two goals quickly is a nice feeling. I think, for me, it’s just carrying out this momentum.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew would not go down easily. Malte Amundsen<\/a> equalized in the 65th minute, poking in a rebound after goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina<\/a> stopped a free kick. But not long after, Biel handled a sharp pass from Zaha in the box and slipped a turning shot into the corner.<\/p>\n Biel now has four goals and seven assists on the season.<\/p>\n While Charlotte began the season well, picking up quality wins over FC Cincinnati<\/a> and San Diego FC<\/a>, they had struggled in the weeks since. Smith’s men were on a five-game league losing streak and ducked out of the US Open Cup<\/a> on penalty kicks in a wild midweek fixture against D.C. United<\/a>.<\/p>\n With the pressure rising, the Crown needed big-time performances from their marquee players. And they got them on Matchday 15.<\/p>\n A win over Columbus, who are in the mix near the top of the East, could be enough to get them back on track.<\/p>\n “We felt dangerous today … that’s how we’re supposed to be as a front four or a front three,” said Agyemang.<\/p>\n “At the end of the day, now we’ve seen that we can do that, especially against a team like Columbus. So why can’t we do this throughout the season?”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nAgyemang makes the difference<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Breakthrough coming?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Determined result<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n