In a Saturday night showdown between two cities both known as the Queen City, Charlotte FC rallied from a two-goal deficit to secure a 2-2 draw with FC Cincinnati at Bank of America Stadium.
Cincinnati (4-4-4, 16 points) opened the scoring in the 36th minute. Evander’s free kick was initially saved by a diving Kristijan Kahlina, but the rebound fell to Kevin Denkey, who volleyed it home with his right foot for his seventh goal of the season. Evander then doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, curling a shot from the edge of the box into the top-left corner for his fourth goal in Cincinnati’s last two matches.
Charlotte (4-5-3, 15 points) responded emphatically early in the second half. Idan Toklomati pulled one back in the 51st minute with a header off a headed assist from Tim Ream, and Pep Biel equalized just two minutes later, burying a centering pass from Djibril Danil into the roof of the net past Roman Celentano for his team-leading sixth goal of the campaign.
Cincinnati held slight advantages in shots (13-11), shots on goal (5-3), and possession (53.8%-46.2%). Both sides had chances to break the deadlock in the second half but failed to convert. The match turned physical, with Cincinnati receiving four yellow cards and Charlotte one, and the teams combining for 23 fouls.
Kahlina made three saves for Charlotte, while Celentano made one for Cincinnati.
