Charlotte FC strive to stay alive in series with NYCFC

Fourth-seeded Charlotte FC are hoping to force a decisive Game 3 when they visit New York City FC in a season-defining first-round clash on Saturday afternoon.

Charlotte was the only home side to drop its opening fixture in this first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, the visitors allowing just three shots on target on Tuesday.

NYCFC forward Alonso Martinez netted the only goal of the evening, cutting through Charlotte's back line to slip a virtually uncontested side-footed finish past goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina in the 34th minute.

"It was a very poor goal to concede, but it probably summed up the first half performance," Charlotte coach Dean Smith said. "I just felt we didn't quite handle the pressure of being the home team in a playoff game. It's the first time we've done it and I didn't think we handled it well enough."

Third-worst in goals scored among Eastern Conference playoff teams, Charlotte's attack was further diminished by the lack of forward Wilfried Zaha, who was suspended from the match after picking up a late red card in the club's final match of the regular season. Zaha will surely slot back into the starting 11 at Yankee Stadium.

Meanwhile, NYCFC will look to advance to the conference semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons, dating back to its first-ever MLS Cup in 2021. The club played spoiler in this round last autumn, ousting third-seeded FC Cincinnati in a series that went the full three games.

"The only pressure, if there is any pressure for us, is to make sure that we go to the next round," coach Pascal Jansen said. "So, if that's going to be in Game 2 or Game 3, we'll have to see. But the mentality that we have going into this sequence of games is that we're going to try and finish it off in two games, obviously."

Indeed, Game 2 will mark the first postseason match at Yankee Stadium since the club's 2021 title run. NYCFC has not lost a playoff game there since 2018. Charlotte is still searching for its first-ever playoff regulation win.

--Field Level Media