A quick turnaround for the Charlotte Independence sends them northward to the Keystone State of PA for Independence Day. After beating Rochester 2–1 late on Saturday night (early Sunday morning), there’s no rest for the winning.

In week four of the USL season, Pittsburgh and Charlotte met at Eagle Field in Rock Hill, SC. The scoring started early that night and then the game fizzled off rather quickly. This matchup saw Kay Banjo score in just two minutes… wait, let’s take a moment and recognize how amazing that name is. I recall this vividly because I wasn’t even seated before he quickly carved up our defense. The next goal was scored at the penalty spot by Jorge Herrera just four minutes after Banjo.

Charlotte held possession in the amount of 71% to 29% while their passing accuracy was stellar at 86%. However, this possession did not translate into goals, and the game ended in a 1–1 draw.

This was back in the dark ages of our team’s attack. Luckily for Independence fans, those woes in front of the net have mostly ceased. The increased proficiency in front of the net has catapulted the Jacks to 5th in the East, undefeated in their last four.

Balanced Offensive Attack

Independence fans have had a lot to cheer about over the last month of the season. Since June 4th, we have played six games while playing some tough competition. In those six games we have three wins, two draws, and one lose.

Those three wins, the last three games, have all seen the Jacks consistently controlling the tempo. Impressively, our average passing accuracy has been 81% during that span. The deadliest aspect of Charlotte’s attack is where its greatest criticism has come from. While we may not have a typical striker up top, we’ve turned that into an advantage. Statistics like those found below show me that while our offense may not be traditional it doesn’t mean it isn’t deadly.

This front four is nothing to mess with… and they know it.

Home Field Disadvantage

Typically, teams look forward to returning to their home to bask in the glory of their supporters section. I’m not going to speculate that Pittsburgh doesn’t enjoying doing that… but their record at home is certainly peculiar. The Riverhounds have played a total of eight games at home and have only turned three of those Highmark Stadium outings into wins. The other five matches have been four losses and one draw. In Pittsburgh’s defense their opponents at home have been tough. Those games have been New York Red Bulls II, FC Cincinnati, Saint Louis FC, Louisville City FC, Orlando City B, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Harrisburg City Islanders, and Toronto FC II.

Many Chances, Few Conversions

You would assume that a team that has created 127 chances would be highly ranked on a goals per game basis. That is not the case for the Riverhounds either: they are currently averaging only one goal per game. That leads to the obvious conclusion: Pittsburgh is averaging so few goals per game because they can’t shoot. They currently are only converting on 11% of their total shots.

Midfield Depth

There were few things to be disappointed in after Charlotte avenged their early season lose to the Rhinos on Saturday night. One unfortunate thing that did transpire was that Callum Ross was given his 5th yellow of the season. This means that we will be without his presence in the midfield which will be sorely missed. He has started the last five games beside Jun Marques Davidson in the midfield and has deserved to do so.

Most teams would be left scrambling to fill this role. Luckily for Charlotte, we are stacked in the midfield and have a workhorse that I believe could start for numerous teams in the league. Lewis Hilton has been a consistent substitute for Callum Ross later in games. He is one of only three Independence players that has appeared in every game this year. His versatility in the midfield will be tough for Pittsburgh to stop.

Unfortunate Timing

Pittsburgh’s normal man between the pipes, Trey Mitchell, sustained a shoulder injury while preparing for their last game against Tampa Bay. Typically this would mean certain doom for any team to have to start a reserve goalkeeper. However, replacement Keasel Broome filled in excellently and was able to keep the clean sheet while also winning save of the week.

The timing for this upcoming game is not ideal for Pittsburgh. Keasel Broome was called up to play for Barbados in the Windward Islands Tournament in Grenada and he too will be unavailable.

To alleviate this potential disastrous situation, the Riverhounds have added a goalkeeper from a bitter rival of the Independence. Macklin Robinson was loaned to the Riverhounds from North Carolina FC on June 30th. The 23-year-old has only played in one game for NCFC this season. His sole start of the season came in the 2nd round of the US Open Cup against the Carolina Dynamo. NCFC won that game 6–1 and the only goal Macklin let in was on a corner in the 74th minute.

Pittsburgh has had to deal with a fair share of injuries this season. They lost starting right back Rich Balchan for the season to a Achilles injury in April. A recent acquisition to help that situation is Shannon Gomez who was just recently loaned to them by NYCFC. I’ll be interested to see how these new additions gel together with a short amount of practice time.

Prediction Time

I’m going to take a moment and do some self promotion. I correctly predicted both the scoreline and first goal scorer for Indy’s game against Rochester.

These days, my Magic 8 Ball has been looking less cloudy. As I peer into that very same Magic 8 Ball for Tuesday’s matchup, a few things are very apparent. Charlotte’s chances of getting three points in Pennsylvania are “most likely” or “without a doubt.” I would even say that Pittsburgh’s chances of scoring are “very doubtful.”

I’m predicting a 2–0 victory for the streaking Independence and their rise up the standings to continue. I’ll be looking for Enzo to score the first goal with an assist from his brother Alex. I also believe that firecracker Lewis Hilton will take advantage of his starting role and score an unassisted goal.

COYJ.