PHOTO | TROY HULL

Daniel Rios, who had two goals going into Saturday's match against Philadelphia Union, left Bank of America Stadium with the first four-goal game in Charlotte FC history.

Two vastly different teams took the pitch at Bank of America Stadium Saturday: the visiting Philadelphia Union who were trying to stamp their imprimatur as the best team in MLS in their 12th season, and host Charlotte FC, with a thin hope of reaching the playoffs in their first campaign.

No one in the crowd of 43,860 or watching at home would have dared suggest that Charlotte would paste Philadelphia with their worst loss – only their fifth of the season – 4-0. Or that Daniel Rios, with two goals and one assist in 24 appearances this season, would achieve the Crown’s first-ever hat trick and whatever you call a 4-goal game.

“Every ball I received,” Rios said, “I felt I had the confidence to score. We showed today what we are capable of.”

The Union came in with 18 wins, most in the league, four losses, and 10 draws. They conceded only 22 goals in 32 games and gave up more than one goal just three times. On top of that, in July they started scoring in bunches through September, with scorelines that looked like they were from Wimbledon: 7-0, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, 4-1, 5-1.

The teams first met in April in Charlotte’s sixth match ever. After three losses to start the season, the Crown had won their last two, their first two, at home before the 0-2 reality check in Pennsylvania. The Union were clearly the better team that day. This time it was clearly the new team on the block.

It didn’t seem like it was going to be that kind of day, especially when the teams marched out of the tunnel and stalwart goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who had started all but one of the 31 prior games this season, was ruled out due to a finger injury sustained during warmups.

Pablo is the boss
In his place this time stood Pablo Sisniega, the Mexican national who started 28 matches for LAFC over three years but had yet to see game time this season.

Charlotte interim coach Christian Lattanzio said he didn’t change the game plan due to the switch but did give Sisniega the freedom to play the ball under his possession – after a save or on a goal kick – as he felt comfortable.

“The game plan wasn’t changed when Kristijan was (ruled) out because we are blessed to have a good set of goalkeepers, really good,” Lattanzio said. “We trust Pablo, we trust George (Marks). I didn’t have any doubt to put Pablo in the game.

“It’s different if you know you’re going to be playing, psychologically, the day before. If you know only a few minutes before you are going to kick off, in a game that is important, against the team that is the top of the East, so we know they have quality and ability and they come to press.”

Sisniega admitted it has been a long and hard season not gettiing on the field.

“I’ve always trained hard. I’ve always been ready for my moment and today it was great to be out there,” he said. “I’ve never had a start where I wasn’t supposed to start and, all of a sudden, you’re playing now. It was definitely different because when you’re the backup, you’re not necessarily ready to come in and you have to get ready and flip on the switch very quick.”

Under both former head coach Miguel Angel Ramierez as well as Lattanzio, Charlotte has made a habit, as so many teams do now, to play the ball closely to the defenders and then work out of the back with targeted passes. Great when it works, but against teams that press high, there are dangers as Charlotte learned in the first game against the Union when Kahlina’s errant pass was picked off and slotted by Daniel Gazdag, the league’s third leading scorer this season with 19 goals.

Rather than follow that pattern, most of Sisniega’s distribution was more direct, sometimes long balls that had to be won or with mid-range targeted throws and kicks that found his teammates on the flanks. If the Union had planned on victimizing Charlotte with a high press, they never really got the chance.

“I saw that their midfielders were waiting to jump with pressure on our outside backs,” said Sisniega, “so I saw no point in playing into their pressure. Especially in the first half, I thought it was smarter to play long. In the second half, we started playing out a little more because there was more space, especially with that red card.”

Early on, Philadelphia created more dangerous opportunities if not shots on target but Sisniega and his defensive line – Anton Walkes and Adilson Malanda in the middle with Harrison Afful on the left and Nathan Byrne on the right – were up to the challenge, something that would continue through the evening.

At the same time, Charlotte was getting forward and into the Union box. It finally paid dividends at the 25-minute mark when Karol Swiderski, who had scored a dazzling game-winner for Poland against Wales in the Euro Nations League last week, sent the ball left to Kamil Jozwiak, who had to go wider to collect the ball.

As defender Jakob Glesnes closed him down, Jozwiak hit if firmly between the defender’s legs to the onrushing Rios who slotted it past Andre Blake to give the Crown a 1-0 lead that they carried into the halftime break.

Even then, this was against the best Philadelphia story to date since the club’s debut in 2010. The Union already had two more wins (18) than their top season to date, which was 16 in 2019 when they finished third in the East.

They came into the match even on points (64) with LAFC and eager for three more in their pursuit of the Supporters Shield, which goes to the team with the most at the end of the regular season. They led 6-2 in shots and surely, they would respond.

But it was Charlotte who struck again nine minutes into the second half. Jozwiak was a Union buster all night for the Crown, on the dribble, finding space, feeding lethal passes to the hot foot of Rios, and he did it again in the 54th minute. With roar of the Charlotte supporters on top of them in the East End, the pair harassed the Philly defense into several turnovers on the left side of the goal with Jozwiak deftly putting the ball on the striker’s foot. Rios danced to his right around defender Leon Flach and nutmegged Blake to put Charlotte up 2-0.

In the 72nd minute, Charlotte won a penalty kick when Nuno Santos’ shot, off a Jozwiak pass, was blocked by the outstretched arm of Kai Wagner. Rios calmly placed it inside the left post to give him Charlotte’s first hat trick and a 3-0 lead.

When tested, Sisniega held his ground, as did the men in front, deflecting or blocking Union incursions. The Union came so close to pulling one back a few minutes later when Nathan Harriel picked up a deflected ball inside the Charlotte box and rifled a pass across the Charlotte goal that only Sisniega’s fingertips kept off the sliding foot of Cory Burke, who was crashing on the far post.

It got even better for Charlotte two minutes into added time when McKinze Gaines took a flicked pass from Santos down the right and put it across the goalmouth where Rios claimed his fourth goal.

“We are adapting better,” said Rios. “We know each other better. We are performing better every week.”

It was a comprehensive and complete victory for the Crown who will face the Columbus Crew on Oct. 5 in continuance of the home match that was abandoned due to persistent lightning storms on July 30. There will be added intrigue as players not on the roster or dressed for that game in July will not be eligible for selection in the completion of the game.

Per league policy, the game will recommence with the same players on the field and substitutes available as when the match was initially postponed. Play will resume in the 16th minute.

That means Lattanzio will have to sort out who will partner with Anton Walkes in central defense as Guzman Corujo, who started that game is out for the season due to injury and Christian Makoun is no longer with the team. Defenders Adilson Malanda and Nathan Byrne were not on the roster then, nor was midfielder Nuno Santos.

Another question regards who the backup goalkeeper would be if Kahlina cannot play. George Marks was the only one on the bench for that game.

The lineups and substitutes who are eligible to play against Columbus can be seen here: https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/mls-regular-season/2022/matches/cltvsclb-10-05-2022/lineups

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