Charlotte FC suffers heartbreaking loss to Orlando City. Here’s what you need to know

For a moment, despite being outplayed at the beginning of the match, it looked as if Charlotte FC would escape Sunday night with a draw and punctuate one of the most special two-match stretches in the club’s young history.

But an 89th-minute goal foiled all that.

Orlando City’s Júnior de Almeida skidded a beautiful breakaway ball through the defense to Tesho Akindele, who then eventually found a way to scoot the ball past CLTFC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina and into the net. That pushed the score to 2-1, which was the final from Bank of America Stadium.

“We should never lose this game at all,” head coach Christian Lattanzio told reporters post-match. “Never. Maybe we don’t win, but we shouldn’t lose it.

“I’m frustrated because we made mistakes that we know how to prevent. And we train how to prevent. And when the game counts, in those moments, we made them, and that’s frustrating because the boys, to me, played really well tonight.”

MLS’s newest expansion team exited the first half without conceding a lead, but it was thoroughly outplayed: Orlando notched three shots on goal to Charlotte’s one, earned four corner kicks to Charlotte’s none and maintained 57.8% of the possession.

In the second half, though, the game shifted. Charlotte, per its coach and at least one player, played one of its best halves of the season.

Scoring began in the 62nd minute with Orlando’s Ercan Kara, who nudged a right-legged shot in the net off an assist from Facundo Torres. Charlotte then responded four minutes later with a goal off a floating cross from Kamil Józwiak, who found the head of McKinze Gaines to level the match at one goal apiece.

And although it wasn’t enough to spark a win, Gaines said there were a lot of positives the team could glean from Sunday’s result.

“I think some losses hurts more than others,” Gaines told reporters post-match. “And I think this one hurts especially just because of the performance that we put in the second half. In the words of our coach, there was only one team in the second half that was even on the field, and that was us. I thought that we did a good job creating and controlling the game. I thought that we defended a lot better in the half. Obviously after leveling, I had the feeling that we would get another one, go up and win the game... but unfortunately that’s soccer.”

Charlotte FC’s loss on Sunday comes directly after its momentous 3-1 road win over NYCFC on Wednesday, which delivered the newest MLS expansion team a new lease on its season after a cacophony of concern consumed it the week before: The team, after all, was coming off a two-game losing streak — one to Chicago Fire at home (3-2) and one to Los Angeles FC on the road (5-0) — and had also learned that key defender Guzman Corujo was out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Considering all this — after all the momentum it earned leading up to its return home — did Lattanzio find the loss disappointing?

“I think if we are only focused on the result, we can focus on the result,” Lattanzio said. “But if they expect us to win every game, as a new franchise, I think the expectations are really high.”

He added: “We are humble, but we are ambitious. We came and played the game with dignity.”

Charlotte FC remains at 32 points and still occupies the “bubble” in the MLS Eastern Conference playoff table. The Queen City team is one of six teams realistically in the fight for spots 5 through 7. (The top-seven teams make the playoffs.)

Here’s what else you need to know.

Brandt Bronico almost the hero again

Brandt Bronico was dubbed “the mayor of Charlotte” by CLTFC supporters after scoring the go-ahead score at NYCFC on Wednesday. It was his first-career goal.

The Charlotte 49er alum had a chance to be the hero again on Sunday night. He found himself with the ball at the top of the box in one of the last of seven stoppage-time minutes and knocked a shot toward the upper left corner — but it just barely sailed over the crossbar.

Andre Shinyashiki status

Andre Shinyashiki, a favorite among fans, hasn’t started since Charlotte FC’s 4-0 loss to Toronto in July. He made a late appearance off the bench on Sunday to help fortify the team’s attack, particularly after Gaines went out with an injury. (Gaines told reporters postgame that it was an ankle sprain, but that he got an X-ray and that “everything looks good.” He said he expects “to get back on the field soon.”)

Lattanzio told reporters of Shinyashiki’s status post-match.

“He knows he’s a player I really value,” Lattanzio said. He added that his team is strong and deep among its forwards: “I think we are strong in the position. Andre, he has to keep working like he does in training, and his moments and his minutes will come.”

Another solid showing from Kerwin Vargas

Kerwin Vargas earned his first start against New York City last week and impressed enough to earn another start on Sunday.

The 20-year-old who signed with CLTFC in May brought an energy and relentlessness to the left side of the field that forced Orlando turnovers on its defensive half of the field. He also, like against NYCFC, cranked a left-legged shot from just outside the 18-yard-box that nearly tucked in past the left post in the first half.

He was replaced by Józwiak in the 61st minute. (Józwiak, four minutes later, would go on to notch his first assist with the club. He signed with Charlotte in March from Derby County.)

Fast facts

Goals: Orlando (Ercan Kara, 61; Tesho Akindele, 89), Charlotte (McKinze Gaines, 65)

Possession: Orlando 49.3%; Charlotte 50.7%

Yellow cards: Orlando (3), Charlotte (2)

Attendance: 30,855