By Billy McGee
March 14, 2025
Photo: Kurt Shackelford / CLTure
Charlotte FC suffered their first loss of the season against Inter Miami on Sunday. A lackluster showing in the attack prevented The Crown from scoring in the 1-0 loss. Charlotte looked like the better team in the first half, although neither team had many chances. Inter Miami put one shot on target, but Kristijan Kahlina made an easy save, while Charlotte had a shot from Patrick Agyemang blocked, and a free kick from Pep Biel sailed over the crossbar.
The most impactful event of the first half was Inter Miami’s goalkeeper receiving a red card for a foul on Wilfried Zaha, which denied a goalscoring opportunity and forced Inter Miami to sub on their backup goalkeeper, leaving them with only 10 players for the remainder of the match.
The second half couldn’t have started any worse for Charlotte. From the kickoff, Inter Miami played the ball back to Gonzalo Luján at center back, who kicked a long pass to Tadeo Allende. Allende brought the ball down and backheeled it to Luis Suárez, who then returned it to Allende, between defenders at the edge of the box. Allende chested the ball down and fired a shot past Kahlina to the far post, giving Inter Miami a 1-0 lead just 17 seconds into the half.
Charlotte had a few chances to score in the second half following the Inter Miami goal, but couldn’t capitalize on any of them. In the 64th minute, Zaha delivered a cross to Patrick Agyemang whose header missed just wide of the goal. In the 78th minute, Idan Toklomati got around a couple defenders and hit the post with a shot from a difficult angle.
In the 84th minute, Charlotte had a big opportunity after a cross from Nathan Byrne sailed just over a leaping Agyemang. The ball fell in front of Zaha, but he couldn’t gain control quickly enough inside the six-yard box, allowing an Inter Miami defender to clear it for a Charlotte corner. The Crown’s final chances came from headers that missed over the crossbar — Toklomati in the 89th minute and Adilson Malanda in the 95th minute.
Lionel Messi didn’t start, coming off two games of rest, but he was available on the bench for Inter Miami. He was also not subbed on after they went down to 10 players and held the lead in the second half. Inter Miami sat back and defended while Charlotte attacked, but were unable to break down their low block, resorting to crosses to create chances. Charlotte finished the match with 18 crosses and nine total shots, none of which were on target.
Charlotte will return to The Fortress this weekend to take on FC Cincinnati. The Crown picked up four points last season against Cincinnati, drawing 1-1 at home and winning 3-1 on the road. This is a different Cincinnati team though, with star player Lucho Acosta, who was the engine of the attack, no longer with the club. They acquired attacking midfielder Evander from the Portland Timbers for $12 million in a cash trade as a replacement for Acosta and spent big to acquire Kévin Denkey, a designated player striker, from Belgian side Cercle Brugge.
Cincinnati currently sits fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference after three games with six points, having beaten the New York Red Bulls 1-0, losing 4-1 to the Philadelphia Union, and defeating Toronto FC 2-0 in their most recent match. Against Toronto, Denkey gave them the lead with a penalty kick in the 73rd minute following a handball in the box. Cincinnati added one more in the 88th minute, as Yuya Kubo scored on a counterattack assisted by Evander.
Cincinnati also played its final Concacaf Champions Cup match on Tuesday, March 11, against Tigres UANL. An Evander goal in the 18th minute gave them the lead at halftime, but Tigres took control in the second half, scoring three goals on their way to a 3-1 win, eliminating Cincinnati from the tournament.
Charlotte announced on Wednesday, they signed left back Souleyman Doumbia on loan from Belgian side Standard Liege. The 28-year-old gives The Crown much-needed depth at left back and could be a starting option.
The Crown also has two players called up to the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Nations League. As expected, veteran defender Tim Ream was selected, along with Agyemang, who impressed during the USMNT’s January camp, scoring twice in as many games.
The USMNT will face Panama in the Nations League semifinal on Thursday, March 20, and if they win, they’ll play the winner of Canada vs. Mexico on Sunday, March 23. As a result, both Agyemang and Ream will likely miss Charlotte’s match against San Jose on Saturday, March 22.
Charlotte FC takes on FC Cincinnati on Saturday, March 15 (7:30 p.m.) at Bank of America Stadium. The match is available to stream on Apple TV MLS Season Pass, and tickets are available here and at Gametime.
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