A moment of celebration ... then disappointment for Charlotte FC
As celebrations go, this one was short-lived.
Charlotte FC, desperately hoping to salvage a point from its Saturday night MLS match at third-place New England, had managed to tie the match with six minutes to play.
Karol Swiderski found himself in possession of the ball in front of the New England goal, with Charlotte down 1-0, and delivered a left-foot shot past Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. and into the net.
1-1 … with only a few minutes left.
But (you knew there was a “but” coming) it only lasted a minute.
The Revolution pushed the ball into the Charlotte end and managed to get a corner kick. Then in the 85th minute, New England defender Dave Romney took a pass from DeJuan Jones and headed the ball into the Charlotte net. 2-1, New England.
And with that, Charlotte FC tumbled into 14th place, of 15 teams, in the MLS East.
The Queen City side is still only four points out of ninth place and the final playoff spot. But there are five teams to pass and only four matches remaining.
Charlotte has seen victories or ties erased by opponents’ goals late in regulation several times in the past six weeks, but Saturday’s setback left coach Christian Lattanzio resolute.
“We will never give up,” he said. “Our approach is to go out and win the next four.”
He acknowledged the series of setbacks in recent weeks, saying, “The games we needed to win, we drew, and the games we could have drawn, we lost. I would like to change all that, but I am very proud of the way the boys played tonight.”
The setback left Charlotte FC in a position of probably needing to win at least three of its final four matches to gain a playoff spot.
The schedule provides hope. The Queen City side returns to action Wednesday, with a 7:30 p.m. home match against last-place Toronto. After that is a road match against 11th-place Chicago and an away-and-home series against 13th-place Inter Miami and Lionel Messi.
New England broke the shutout Saturday in the 64th minute, when midfielder Noel Buck scored on an assist from Mark-Anthony Kaye.
That set up the drama in the final six minutes of regulation.
Lattanzio said a defensive breakdown was responsible for New England’s winning tally.
“We were not quick to recognize the situation,” he said of the Revolution’s play off the corner kick. “They are very good in those situations.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
