Charlotte FC Lose Away from Home to the Columbus Crew

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Charlotte FC has suffered its second straight loss in a 4-2 defeat to the Columbus Crew.  Columbus currently sits on top of the MLS East table following this win; with 24 points through 11 games this season.  Following this loss, Charlotte has dropped down to 5^th place in the east with 19 points accumulated so far through 11 games.  With plenty of games still left in the season, this loss doesn’t affect Charlotte immediately, but we should be careful not to fall into bad form following our back-to-back losses.  Columbus however has been electric so far this campaign, being clear favorites to lift the MLS cup at the end of the season.  

Columbus dominated the match on all fronts, keeping almost 60% of possession and unleashing 11 shots on goal. They started the match well with a plethora of shots and chances in our final third. Opening the scoring in the 25^th minute with Dylan Chambost scoring off a deflected save made by Kristijan Kahlina.  Their second came from a penalty kick converted by Diego Rossi in the 39^th minute.  We did find momentum at the end of the first half with Wilfried Zaha converting our penalty opportunity during stoppage time.  This momentum was short lived as Aziel Jackson scored their third shortly after halftime.  The tides turned once again as Liel Abada scored our second in the 64^th minute, with the opportunity to spark a comeback.  However, that momentum did not last long as Jacen Russel-Rowe went on to increase their advantage by two in the 81^st minute.  

Charlotte FC fortunately have started the season positively and gave themselves two points cushion from 6^th place and below.  The Crown will travel to Cary to play North Carolina FC in the US Open cup on May 6^th.  Following our cup tie, we will travel to Nashville to play Nashville FC on May 10^th.  Charlotte FC hopes to turn around their recent bad form in Cary and carry momentum to defeat Nashville for the second time this season.