Charlotte FC is packing its bags
Upcoming road swing gets tougher with injuries to Byrne and Biel; Plus: Smith reacts to MLS fine, getting to know new defender Marshall-Rutty, and previewing Saturday's game in Columbus
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Charlotte FC is set for a busy two months of travel, with 9 of the next 11 games on the road, as the schedule gets tough and points will be harder to come by
Patrick Agyemang (left) and Tyger Smalls preparing to board Charlotte FC’s charter for Miami on March 8. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Let’s just say the honeymoon portion of Charlotte FC’s schedule is over, except maybe the traveling part?
After using five home victories — and falling short of a sixth in a 1-0 loss to New England last Saturday — to rise to the upper echelons of the Eastern Conference, Charlotte is entering the where-did-they-go portion of the schedule. For the next two months, Charlotte FC will play at home twice: May 17 against Chicago and May 24 against Columbus.
Charlotte will be on the road for nine of its next 11 games, including Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup match against North Carolina FC in Cary. The road stretch starts Saturday against second-place Columbus.
“It’ll be a good test for us to show how good of a team we are, and hopefully get more road wins that we can put under our belt,” said the eternally optimistic midfielder Brandt Bronico.
Charlotte, which is 5-1-0 at Bank of America Stadium this season, is just 1-2-1 on the road. The team’s only away win was at last-place Montreal, and it earned another point from a 2-2 draw following a fortunate late own goal in Seattle.
May’s schedule is also packed with three midweek games (Tuesday in U.S. Open Cup, May 14 in Orlando and May 28 against the New York Red Bulls) and a possible fourth if Charlotte FC wins Tuesday in Cary. (The Round of 16 would be May 20 or 21 in Charleston, S.C., or Washington, D.C.)
A couple of international breaks will lighten the load in June, but the road schedule challenges continue, in part because of Charlotte’s own doing. Bank of America Stadium is hosting the FIFA Club World Cup for four dates in late June. Charlotte FC has to travel for three MLS games in that period: at Philadelphia, Kansas City and Chicago.
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You can help local families achieve housing stability with a donation to Crisis Assistance Ministry, which provides assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency by providing emergency rent and utility assistance as well as basic necessities. Every dollar donated by May 15 will be matched!
Injury updates: Byrne out following neck surgery, Biel likely to miss Saturday
The hectic schedule is coming just as Charlotte faces news that veteran right back Nathan Byrne will be out for “several months” following surgery Monday to repair injured discs in his neck. And midfielder Pep Biel, who’s leading Charlotte FC with three goals and MLS with six assists, will likely miss Saturday’s game due to a hamstring strain suffered against New England.
Smith wasn’t ruling out a return for Biel in Columbus, saying the team is “waiting as long as we can” to make the decision, but that having him back in action next week was more likely. Overall the news was good, Smith said, that an MRI indicated the injury was not significant structurally.
“The injuries can happen at any club, and you have to get on with it,” Smith said. “As a head coach, I know that. It’s our job to get the best out of the players who come in.”
Smith said Byrne, 32, who has a green card now, will continue his recovery in Charlotte with an eye toward returning this season.
“He’ll definitely be back this season,” Smith said. “But [surgery] was the right decision to make. He had two replacement discs put in. He was getting [the sensation of] pins and needles in his arm, so for his health, we had to get that done. He’s getting better. I’ve been to see him already. I think he was milking it, coming out in a wheelchair. The scar is not massive. I think I’ve had bigger shaving cuts, but it’s OK. No, he’s all right.”
Left back Souleyman Doumbia, who has been out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, was expected to begin jogging this week.
MLS fines Smith, Westwood and Bronico; coach had blasted officiating as ‘incompetent’
Postgame candor is one of Smith’s most endearing qualities, at least to those who cover him. Nobody has to wonder what he’s thinking, especially when it comes to officiating.
After this past Saturday’s 1-0 loss to New England, Smith took aim at MLS officiating in as terse a postgame press conference as he’s had since coming to Charlotte. He was subsequently fined an undisclosed amount by MLS for comments “in violation of the league’s public criticism policy.”
New England’s lone goal was scored on what Smith thought should have been offside, but his reaction, which drew a yellow, was just an extension of frustration that had been building all game from what he considered unchecked physical play against his center backs as well as to star winger Wilfried Zaha.
“That was probably the most incompetent performance by officials, in my opinion, that I’ve seen,” he’d said afterward. And later: “I asked the fourth official for a rule he didn’t even know, so it’s incompetence, and I get a yellow card for telling them it’s incompetence.”
Smith took some criticism from fans and media alike for focusing on the officiating rather than Charlotte’s failure to convert its 18 chances into into goals. That could change now.
“You’ll probably get a lot less answers from me after games now,” Smith said. “I think you have to be a lot more guarded. … I like to be fair. I like to be honest. That was the way I was brought up.”
As for whether he had any regrets for what he said after last Saturday’s loss, Smith said no.
“I’m accountable to one person, and that’s my wife,” Smith said. “She’s my biggest critic. I asked her to watch my interview after the game to see if it was OK and whether I’ve gone over the top and she said no. She’s a little upset now though because we won’t be able to afford to bring our daughter over [from England] on the plane.”
At least, Smith hasn’t lost his sense of humor. He also joked that the MLS rule book has become his bedside reading.
He was serious, though, when he said he was exploring options to appeal the fine.
“I didn’t know what their policies were, and I still don’t understand how the fines come about,” Smith said. “I still feel I have a right of reply, a right of appeal. So I’m looking at legal options at the moment.”
Captain Ashley Westwood received a fine as well, after defending Smith in his postgame comments, perhaps for saying of head referee Victor Rivas: “He just wants to make it about himself, and he’s got all the attention tonight.”
Midfielder Brandt Bronico also picked up a fine this week for embellishment, on a free kick when he went to the ground holding his face.
Even keeled Jahkeele: Charlotte FC’s newest defender showing maturity beyond his 20 years
Charlotte’s new defender, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, is acclimating to new team. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
If Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty is as polished on the field as he was in his first press gathering as a member of Charlotte FC on Wednesday, this is going to be cake for him.
The new outside back was picked up on loan from CF Montreal after injuries to both Byrne and Doumbia. If a spur-of-the-moment move might seem jarring for a 20-year-old, who has never played for a club outside his native Canada, you’ve got the wrong 20-year-old.
There’s a reason “Jah-keele” sounds like “even keel.”
“I was very excited,” Marshall-Rutty said of going from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to a team that just last week was at the top. “To work with some of the guys in the group is exciting. Dean’s a top coach, and it’s one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so I’m excited. In football, things change very quickly, and sometimes you need luck. So maybe this is my chance to come in and to take it.”
Smith said Charlotte is still trying to push through his visa in time for Saturday’s game in Columbus, but it was still up in the air as of Thursday.
“From what I’ve seen so far, what a great kid,” Smith said. “Great attitude, settled into the dressing room straight away, he’s showing some really good skills. He will be a definite good addition to the squad.”
Marshall-Rutty has made 88 starts in MLS already, giving him experience that belies his age. Here are just a few of his early milestones:
The native of Brampton, Ontario, started playing for his local youth academy at age 7. He signed with Toronto FC at age 14, making him the youngest-ever homegrown player to sign with that organization.
At age 15, he became the youngest to sign a first-team contract with Toronto.
A month after his 16th birthday, during the Covid year, Marshall-Rutty made his MLS debut at the “MLS is Back” tournament, played entirely at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Fla.
Marshall-Rutty working against Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream in a recent practice. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
He said he lived the next seven months on the road, which culminated with him becoming the youngest player ever called up to camp with the Canadian national team.
“I think [traveling] has become the norm for me,” said Marshall-Rutty, who has also spent an MLS offseason in England, training with Arsenal and Liverpool.
Marshall-Rutty played 22 games in back-to-back seasons for Toronto FC at ages 18 and 19, before experiencing his first trade last August to CF Montreal. He has since appeared in 15 games, including six this season before Charlotte came calling.
Marshall-Rutty was not on the active roster when Charlotte FC defeated Montreal 1-0 on April 12 in what would have been his first home game this season. Montreal played its first seven games on the road to avoid playing the coldest part of the schedule in Quebec.
Packing for Charlotte’s upcoming road trips doesn’t seem especially daunting.
“I'm happy here because I get to train in the sun,” he said. “I think playing away is fine. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to experience being with the squad for the first game [Saturday at Bank of America Stadium] but we were sorting some things out. I'm just excited to be here, and whenever the home game comes, I'll be ready and excited.”
Marshall-Rutty said he knew Charlotte FC’s injured reserve goalkeeper Chituru Odunze and has friends in common with striker Patrick Agyemang.
“It’s a nice vibe,” he said. “A nice locker room.”
And the biggest perk now to living in the U.S.?
“I can watch the NFL now,” he said. “And the weather is beautiful.”
Up Next: Charlotte FC (6-3-1) at Columbus (6-1-3)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
Charlotte FC took 18 shots last week. Only four were on target in the 1-0 loss to New England.
Columbus is coming off its only loss of the season, 1-0 in Miami.
Former Columbus star Cucho Hernandez, the 2023 MLS MVP, was sold to Real Betis of Spain’s first division La Liga in February for a $15 million transfer fee. Uruguayan Diego Rossi has helped fill the void with five goals.
Columbus acquired striker Daniel Gazdag from the Philadelphia Union last month. He is still looking for his first goal contribution for Columbus in two starts and one appearance off the bench.
Charlotte and Columbus are tied for second in the Eastern Conference in fewest goals allowed with eight.
Charlotte has lost just once in six meetings against Columbus, going 2-1-3 in the series. Charlotte also has to play Columbus twice this month in a span of five MLS games.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fourth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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