Pep Biel and Wilfried Zaha scored early in the second half as Charlotte FC won its home opener by defeating Atlanta United FC 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Zaha, a longtime veteran of the Premier League’s Crystal Palace, was in his debut for Charlotte.
Kristijan Kahlina, the reigning Goalkeeper of the Year in the MLS, notched his first shutout of the season by collecting four saves for Charlotte (1-0-1, 4 points)
Atlanta (1-1-0, 3 points) was charted with 16 attempted shots, but just four on goal. Atlanta’s Brad Guzan stopped three shots.
Biel scored in transition in the 49th minute, marking the first scoring chance for either team in the second half. Zaha delivered a short pass into the box and Biel only had Guzan to beat for the goal.
Zaha notched his goal about five minutes later, again off a fastbreak situation though with quite a bit of activity in the box. Guzan knocked away an initial shot, but Zaha was there to finish with a delivery that sent the ball bouncing into the right corner of the net.
Atlanta, playing in its first road match, applied tremendous pressure in the final minutes but couldn’t connect for a goal. Kahlina made a save during one of the flurry of chances.
Counting a goal in his final match last fall for Charlotte, Biel has scored in two of his last three MLS matches. Plus, he had an assist in last weekend’s season-opening draw at Seattle.
–Field Level Media
