Charlotte FC extends franchise-record home win streak to five in 2-1 win over Chicago

An exercise in art, it wasn’t.

In fact, Charlotte FC’s 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium was the kind of sporting event that would send the home team’s fans reaching for the antacid pills.

A lot of things didn’t go right.

And many of the 29,016 fans at the midweek MLS match spent much of the night booing at referee Tori Penso. They weren’t alone. A sizable number of Charlotte’s players were unhappy, too, and a few of them were cited in what turned out to be a yellow card-fest.

But enough things went right for Charlotte to extend its home unbeaten streak to a franchise-record five matches.

The same Charlotte FC team that was near the bottom of the 15-team MLS East just a month ago is now in seventh — in playoff position, although it’s a long time to the end of the regular season in October.

“We showed resilience,” coach Christian Lattanzio said. “And resilience is the result of the character you bring to the game.”

Here are three things we learned from this strange Charlotte FC victory:

The kid can play

Brandon Cambridge started the season with Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte’s team in the MLS developmental league. He scored frequently enough to get a call-up to the big-league team.

Wednesday night, Cambridge, 21, scored his first MLS goal. It came in the 67th minute, after plenty of frustration for the home side (more about that later).

Then, 14 minutes later, Cambridge scored again. Both goals came from the right side of the net. On the second score, he had enough time to settle himself, fake two Chicago Fire defenders out of position, and whistle a left-footed shot past Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady.

“I’ve been impressed with him,” Lattanzio said of the rookie forward. “That’s why it’s important for a club to have two teams. Crown Legacy has done a good job of educating the kids.”

Lattanzio noted that Cambridge whiffed on an open shot Saturday in Charlotte’s 3-1 victory in Atlanta.

“That ball went under his foot,” Lattanzio said of Cambridge’s attempt in Atlanta. “But he has resilience. He didn’t let that happen again.”

“I muffed that one in Atlanta,” Cambridge said. “I decided that if I got the chance, I’d make it the next time. I made the most of those chances tonight.”

The first goal came on an assist by veteran Justin Meram, who had a two-goal game of his own in Atlanta. The second goal was set up by a pass from defender Nathan Byrne.

The only thing Cambridge might have muffed Wednesday night was a goal celebration.

“That’s something you dream about as a kid,” he said. “You’re in the bathroom or somewhere else by yourself, and you practice what you’d do when you score a goal. And when the time came tonight, I didn’t know what to do.”

Life’s not always fair

Referee Tori Penso’s rough reception from the fans started in the fifth minute, when Charlotte FC striker Karol Swiderski went down in front of the Chicago goal while trying to shoot. Fans thought Chicago should have been called for a penalty, but Penso instead awarded a corner kick to Charlotte.

The cascade of boos continued through the match, as Charlotte players experienced contact inside the Chicago box with Fire defenders at least three more times. No penalty kicks were awarded.

By the final 10 minutes of regulation, Charlotte FC players began expressing their dissatisfaction openly. Three players — goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, Swiderski and defender Jan Sobocinski — got yellow cards.

Lattanzio didn’t beat around the bush.

“There was room for improvement in the way we reacted to the officiating,” he said. “But there’s also room for improvement by the referee. I think she had a bad game. Coaches can have bad games, players can have bad games, and so can officials.”

Statistics can lie

In the first half, Charlotte had the edge in possession, 66 to 34 percent. The Queen City side had a 2-to-1 edge in passes and a big edge in corner kicks and centering passes.

But Chicago FC led 1-0, and Charlotte never got a shot on goal.

The Fire scored in the 29th minute, when striker Kacper Przybylko managed to sneak around two Charlotte defenders and unleash a shot at Kahlina. The Charlotte netminder stopped the first attempt, but Przybylko got the rebound and scored.

Charlotte FC had dominated the half but had nothing to show for it — not even a shot on goal.

What did Lattanzio do at halftime?

“I came in and broke everything,” he said, breaking into a laugh.

“No, no,” he quickly added. “I told them to stay calm. Success in life means you have to go through tough moments. The guys responded very well.”

What’s next?

Charlotte FC, now 5-5-3 with 18 points, is in a three-way tie with Columbus and Philadelphia, but those two teams have played one fewer game.

Charlotte is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, hosting Nashville FC at Bank of America Stadium. Nashville (6-3-4) is third in the MLS East and has allowed the fewest goals of any team in the conference (8).