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Charlotte Independence

Charlotte Independence Defeat New York Red Bulls II in Come from Behind Win

October 9, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Independence News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Independence earned three more points tonight in a big come from behind win over New York Red Bulls II at American Legion Memorial Stadium. The Jacks are back at home next weekend on Saturday, October 16 for Breast Cancer Awareness Night presented by Novant Health. The team will play host to Charleston Battery and kickoff is set for 7:00 PM. Click here to purchase tickets.

The Independence got off to a rocky start after an own goal by #3 Hugh Roberts gave New York Red Bulls II the early lead. However, the Jacks quickly bounced back, creating ample opportunities in front of goal during the first half.

It all started in the 19th minute. #7 Joel Johnson sent a ball to the feet of #32 Gabriel Obertan, but his shot was punched away by Red Bulls Goalkeeper #40 AJ Marcucci.

Just minutes later, #4 Jake Areman sent a cross into the box from the right side of the pitch and #56 Sylvain Marveaux took it out of the air first time for the shot, but it was another diving save for the NY keeper.

Then, in the 28th minute, #9 Irivn Parra made a cheeky heel pass back to Obertan who had some space in the box. He dribbled in towards the net, but the goalkeeper came up with yet another save.

The Jacks continued their effort in the 31st minute when #2 Kevin Riascos passed the ball off to Johnson who sent it over to #19 Enzo Martinez. Martinez picked out Riascos who made a dashing run into the box. He took the shot, but it missed just wide.

Obertan found himself with the ball in the 34th minute after a pass from Marveaux. His shot missed high and wide.

To close the half, #13 Brandt Bronico found himself with lots of space at the top of the box. He took the strike, but the goalie made the save to keep the Jacks down by 1 going into halftime.

"The Red Bulls are very dynamic from the first team down to them. They always seem to go, go, go and it can always cause some trouble if you are not mindful of it and not on your toes," stated #3 Hugh Roberts. "We were much better today being aware of them than the previous games. For the team to push through that and come through just speaks to our season, how well we are doing, the comradery we have, the chemistry. If we weren't there, we wouldn't have pushed through that game. We all knew that own goal was bad and we knew the quality we had, we probably could've put in 5 goals. We ultimately knew we could've kept going."

Just one minute into the second half Charlotte stepped up the level of play and was ready to get back into action. Martinez sent the ball over to Areman who found Parra inside, but the keeper cleared the ball out of play.

In the 52nd minute, Charlotte gained a penalty kick opportunity after a foul inside the box. It was Riascos who took the PK. His shot, low and left, was saved by the keeper. The rebound found Riascos again, but the Jacks were unable to find the back of the net.

The Independence finally found some momentum scoring two back-to-back goals in the 65th and 66th minutes respectively.

In the 65th minute, Johnson sent in a cross from the right side and Martinez just got a touch on it to send it past the keeper, giving Charlotte their first goal of the night.

Immediately following, in the 66th minute Areman sent a long ball in from way outside the 18-yard box. Parra timed it perfectly and headed the ball into the back of the net. Charlotte took the lead 2-1.

The Jacks made one final run in the 75th minute of play. #29 Dane Kelly made a sprint down the left side of the pitch with his defender trailing just behind him. He took a rocket of a shot, but sent it just left of the frame.

At the end of full time, the Charlotte Independence pulled off the come from behind win. The final score: CLT 2 - NY 1.

"New York has a very defined style of play. They have a very talented and athletic team and are super organized. John does a very good job of that and preparing them," stated Charlotte Independence Head Coach, Mike Jeffries. "They can get forward very quickly, which is difficult for us defensively. I actually thought we managed the counterattack side of the game very well. I thought we did a good job defensively limiting the chances, more so today than in some of our other games with them. I thought we were a little better at dictating the tempo of the game and maintaining the ball, not getting into an up and down game. The positives for us to take away are that we came back after conceding an own goal, and came back after missing a penalty kick. We found ways to win and that's huge. That is a great confidence boost for us against a team that has given us trouble over the years. I think those are things that we will build on. I credit the guys for their mentality to hang in after having a number of good chances that didn't go our way. We will build on the positives and probably most important we found a way to come back after being down a goal."

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