Charlotte FC shows its promise — and some shortcomings — in draw to Seattle

On the west end of Bank of America Stadium, there were boos. On the east side, there was a standing ovation.

The west-side fans were directing their displeasure at the four officials exiting the field, yes. And the east-side fans populate the stadium’s supporters section — the tifo-floating, flag-waving, beer-tossing bunch who never sit and whose lore of enthusiasm seems to grow by the game.

But the cacophony that rained down right after Charlotte FC’s 3-3 draw with Seattle seemed to encapsulate the story of Saturday night nonetheless. And that story was this: For every thrill the home fans saw, there were accompanying chills.

Some thrills: Jaylin Lindsey (17’) scored his first goal in a Charlotte FC uniform. So did captain Ashley Westwood (53’) and Patrick Agyemang (75’). All three were equalizers. All arrived in different ways, too: Lindsey put away a touch pass from Karol Świderski you’d have to see to believe. Westwood wound up and sailed a right-footed bender right outside the 18-yard box. Agyemang skipped a header into the back of the net after a magnificent ball from Nathan Byrne.

And despite all that, Charlotte (now with 6 wins, 8 losses, 4 ties) allowed three goals and notched five yellow cards. The team boasts the most goals allowed (33) and yellow cards earned (48) in all of Major League Soccer.

There are draws that feel like losses and draws that feel like wins. And some, as Saturday showed, feel like both.

“I think our boys played better than Seattle,” Charlotte FC head coach Christian Lattanzio told reporters resolutely. “They were sharper in certain moments. And I thought that we deserved to win. To go three times behind and then to come back three times, I think it showed a lot of character.”

Lattanzio added his frustration peaked after the first and third goals — two moments where a lapse in defending saw a long ball turn into a Cristian Roldan goal in the 11th minute and a Raúl Ruidíaz goal in the 70th. But beyond that, he was happy with the team’s organization.

“We showed good organization on the pitch when we had the ball,” Lattanzio said. “We played most of the time in the opposing half. And I think that we had the ball in the last third more than they did. I thought that they were dangerous at the beginning, where we started tentatively — and I don’t know why, we should’ve started a little bit stronger.

“But after, in the second half especially, we were more controlling the game.”

The stats affirm Lattanzio’s sense. Charlotte controlled 54.7% of the game’s possession and completed 88.5% of its passes. Among those passes? 80.9% were in the attacking half and 76.5% were in the final third.

But like there was everywhere on Saturday, there was a trade-off: Despite a thrilling offense, the back line struggled. This has been a sore spot for the team all season — and it’s what will be at the center of issues Charlotte addresses in the upcoming summer transfer window. (It also helps that Guzmán Corujo, who has recently returned to action after nearly a year of recovering from a torn ACL, will soon be fit to return. Corujo was available on the bench but did not log any minutes.)

Lattanzio reiterated on Saturday that his team is three players away from being a top-caliber club. (How those acquisitions might work while a bunch of money is tied up with Andre Shinyashiki and Nuno Santos — two guys who haven’t played for the team since April due to off the field issues — he couldn’t say immediately.)

Lattanzio also reiterated: Saturday’s result came without two of the team’s three designated players — Kamil Jóźwiak and Enzo Copetti are recovering from various injuries — and thus thrusted a bunch of young players like Ben Bender and Kerwin Vargas into the spotlight.

Yet another trade-off on Saturday night.

“For a club that is young like us, that is a big deal,” he said. “And that’s with all due respect to the youngsters — they did unbelievably well, I’m so proud of them, they play and train really well. “

Three other Charlotte FC observations

▪ Nathan Byrne played his “best game in Charlotte.” That’s at least according to his coach. Lattanzio said this after Byrne’s plucky performance that included an assist on Agyemang’s goal to tie the game up for the final time.

▪ More on Patrick Agyemang’s performance. Agyemang’s goal was special, the striker said with a big smile postgame. He has spent a bulk of the past three months with Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte FC’s MLS NEXT Pro side, and said that getting used to the speed of the MLS game has been tricky but fruitful: “Coming from college (Eastern Connecticut), it’s a little tricky to just go straight into MLS,” Agyemang said. “I know some people can do it, but in my case, it was hard. ... So I think Crown Legacy let me get my game going and really have a good feel in the professional level, and allow me to do well up here too.”

▪ Official attendance vs. Seattle was 31,563. This number is always important to Charlotte FC, but it was thrust into a particular discussion a few days ago, after superstar Lionel Messi announced he’d sign with Inter Miami — and Inter Miami was slated to play a match in Charlotte in October. Per Charlotte Business Journal, the club decided to put upper level tickets on sale immediately without notice and promptly sold 600 seats.