South Charlotte Today

Charlotte FC suffered a 1-0 defeat in their Leagues Cup opener against Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Subaru Park. Despite the loss, Charlotte still has a chance to advance to the knockout rounds with one group stage match remaining against Cruz Azul.

The match began unusually when referee Marco Nava issued a yellow card to Philadelphia's Jose Martinez before kickoff for reasons that were not immediately clear. The initial minutes saw Charlotte as the stronger side until Philadelphia gained momentum.

Philadelphia created an early opportunity in the 16th minute when Kai Wagner delivered a cross to Tai Baribo, who missed the target. Charlotte responded with chances of their own, notably from Kerwin Vargas whose cross narrowly missed Iuri Tavares.

Philadelphia took the lead in the 33rd minute after Andrew Privett was pulled out of position. Daniel Gazdag reached a ball near the endline and cut it back to Baribo, who scored easily. Another potential goal by Samuel Adeniran was ruled offside shortly before halftime.

In the second half, Charlotte made several substitutions and had opportunities but failed to capitalize. Patrick Agyemang’s shot in the 48th minute was deflected for a corner kick. Later, Tavares left due to injury and was replaced by Tyger Smalls.

Despite creating some danger through substitutes like Smalls and Brandon Cambridge, Charlotte could not find an equalizer. Philadelphia almost doubled their lead in the closing minutes but were denied by Kristijan Kahlina and an offside ruling confirmed by VAR.

Charlotte FC will look to rebound in their next match against Cruz Azul at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday.

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