Nathan Byrne (No. 14) of the Charlotte FC gets on the attack in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nashville SC at Bank of America Stadium. (Photo: Maellen Huff | The Podium Finish)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon in the Queen City, Charlotte FC delivered late-match theatrics, rallying from a goal down to stun Nashville SC,, 2-1, at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte entered the match riding a six-game home winning streak, cautiously sizing up a Nashville side anchored by the ever-dangerous Hany Mukhtar. The visitors struck first in the 24th minute when Mukhtar slipped past two defenders and slotted a low shot past Kristijan Kahlina after a defensive lapse.
Despite trailing at halftime, Charlotte remained composed, relying on ball control and patient buildup play. Head coach Dean Smith’s substitutions in the second half—particularly bringing on Pep Biel and Wilfried Zaha—tilted the balance back toward the Queen City club.
Zaha, brought on to inject late-game flair, made an immediate impact. In the 85th minute, he was chopped down while slashing through Nashville’s backline. Calm and composed, he buried the penalty with authority—sending Joe Willis the wrong way and Bank of America Stadium into delirium.
But Charlotte was nowhere near done yet.
Just five minutes later, with the crowd on its feet, Biel orchestrated a moment of brilliance. With Nashville scrambling, Biel threaded a precise through-ball to second-half substitute Idan Toklomati, who coolly slotted home the go-ahead goal in the 90th minute. The Israeli forward’s sharp finish sent the hometown faithful into a frenzy, sealing Charlotte’s seventh straight home win.
Kahlina, who had a relatively quiet second half, made a crucial save during stoppage time to preserve the victory.
Saturday’s win improved Charlotte FC’s record to 4-1-2 on the season, continuing a strong run of form at home. More importantly, the resilience shown in the final minutes underscores a side that’s learning how to grind out results—even when the odds are not in their favor.
This was not lost in the mindset of Smith following the seventh game of the 2025 campign.
“It was just a game of two halves,” Smith said. “The first half off, it was like watching a testimonial game. In the second half, they actually came to play. After they scored the goal and we had the drinks break, we could change a few things. And we changed it again at halftime. So, the little breaks helped us change the momentum of the game.”
Some roster adjustments during the game played a crucial role in the second half although Smith stood by his lineup selection.
Brandt Bronico (No. 13) of the Charlotte FC attempts to disrupt Nashville SC’s offensive possession in Saturday’s 2-1 contest at Bank of America Stadium. (Photo: Maellen Huff | The Podium Finish)
“If I didn’t think, I wouldn’t have picked it,” he said. “But you can never predict how the game’s going to go. My thoughts on Thursday and Friday was that was the way to go. And after 30 minutes, we never showed enough pace or tempo to get close to people because we decided to change the way we pressed them.
“The games I’ve seen before, their fullbacks have got the ball and gone in behind quite a lot. And we wanted to stop that and I thought we stopped it for spells. But they played through us at times, which was very unlike us. We never got close enough to close them down so we had to do something about that from the sideline.”
A scary moment unfolded in the 71st minute when Nashville SC captain Walker Zimmerman collided with Kerwin Vargas. As Zimmerman leapt to head the ball clear, Vargas—attempting a bicycle kick—accidentally struck him in the face. Medical personnel rushed on as play halted, and Zimmerman was stretchered off with a neck brace before being taken to a local hospital.
When Vargas’ foot accidentally struck Zimmerman in the face, it led to a stoppage in play with medical personnel attending to Zimmerman for several minutes before he was stretchered off with a neck brace and transported to a local hospital.
Nashville SC head coach B.J. Callaghan provided a positive update after the game when he stated how Zimmerman was in stable condition and responsive. Zimmerman was released from the hospital later on Saturday evening.
Ashley Westwood, Charlotte FC’s captain, expressed his thoughts and well wishes to Zimmerman after the game.
“First of all, we just want to make sure Walker’s alright,” Westwood said. “It wasn’t nice to see. Hopefully, he’s doing alright and we send our best wishes to the team and as a football club to him and all his family.
“It’s not nice to see when that happens. Kerwin’s devastated. He was shaken on the pitch. But, hopefully, he’s alright. Nothing else matters at the minute.”
Through the intense emotions of this Saturday matinee, Westwood tipped his cap to the Charlotte FC faithful for pushing his squad through to their fourth victory of the season.
“Ever since I’ve been here, it’s been a fortress. We feel confident here,” Westwood observed. “We were awful again but the fans, that section behind the goal, that gets you through games and it’s not us that won the game. It was them that won the game. We thank them for that.
“We got a great connection with our supporters and the whole city. And we need more of that. Hopefully, that’ll push us to win a few trophies.”
Charlotte will aim to ride this momentum into next weekend’s road test. But for now, they can bask in the afterglow of another gritty, statement-making win at home—fueled by a relentless belief and the roar of their faithful.
