USL Charlotte Independence

Charlotte Independence Concede 2 Goals in Loss at Miami FC

June 26, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Independence News Release


MIAMI, FL - The Charlotte Independence fell to Miami FC 2-1 tonight at FIU Stadium. The Jacks will take a full week to prepare for their next road match at Highmark Stadium on Saturday, July 3 when they take on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM (ET). Watch on ESPN+.

Miami applied the pressure early when a deep ball in behind the Jacks' defense forced Independence Goalkeeper #33 Brandon Miller to come out and make a play. His initial block found the feet of the Miami offense whose shot hit the arm of Miller outside the box. The free kick, struck by #98 Pierre Da Silva, hit the crossbar and bounced over the goal line. Miami took the lead in the 18th minute 1-0.

Charlotte made a run in the 32nd minute with a defensive stop by #35 Blake Pope who found #29 Dane Kelly in the box again for a shot that went through the hands of Miami Goalkeeper #24 Connor Sparrow. The score remained tied halftime, MIA 1 - CLT 1.

"It was great defensive work from Blake," stated Forward, Dane Kelly. "He won the ball, dribbled a bit, looked up, saw me and played it to me and I finished it. He's been playing good, and I think his confidence is getting better each game. I think he's a player who just loves to get forward and serve the ball into the box, and I am a player who is always trying to be in the box to finish."

Kelly continued to put pressure on the Miami defense in the 54th minute when he took on a couple of defenders and drew a foul inside the box. He stepped up to take the kick, but sent it high and wide.

In the 77th minute, Miami found space on the counter attack. It was #2 Othello Bah who played a pass inside the box to #10 Ariel Martinez. He took the shot and slotted is past Miller. Miami took the lead by two.

As play continued, the Jacks saw shots from #35 Blake Pope, #8 Marcelo Palomino, #23 Jordan Bender, #10 Valentin Sabella, and #21 Noah Paravicini but couldn't find the back of the net. The final score: MIA 2 - CLT 1.

"Really disappointed that we didn't get more out of the game," stated Independence Head Coach, Mike Jeffries. "They were all over us for the first 15 to 20 minutes, we weathered that, and came back from a goal down to get level and I thought we settled into the first half pretty well. I thought we pushed the game hard in the second half and had a lot of chances. When you're on the road and create as many chances as we did, you feel like you have to get something out of the game and we weren't able to. We had some unfortunate mistakes that we made and at the end they punished us for one of them to get the game winner. Just a disappointing night and I thought we deserved something out of this game."

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: The Charlotte Independence will play Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday, July 3 at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, P.A. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM (ET). Watch live on ESPN+.

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