CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte FC returned to the Queen City on Saturday to host the New York Red Bulls at Bank of America Stadium. The black and blue defended the home pitch 2-0, sending the Red Bulls back to the Empire State scoreless.
Charlotte now stands at 5-6-0 in Eastern Conference play and is 3-5 in games decided by one goal.
The Red Bulls are now 5-3-3 against conference opponents, ranking fourth in the MLS giving up 15 goals.
Saturday's match marked the first time these teams will face each other. Ben Bender scored the first goal of the afternoon just before the half in stoppage time. Derrick Jones sealed the game at the end, again in stoppage time.
Bender scored a deflected goal from outside the box in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time to spark the flames to victory. He's the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft and Saturday's goal marked the third one for his team, taking a pass from Christian Ortíz.
Charlotte's second goal didn't come until the first minute of second-half stoppage time when Jones found the net for the first time this season. Sergio Ruiz and Andre Shinyashiki had assists.
Kristijan Kahlina saved the only shot he faced to notch a clean sheet for Charlotte. Carlos Miguel saved three of the five shots he faced for the Red Bulls.
After Charlotte FC coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez was fired, the team's captain gave his perspective on why the move was made.
And he did not hold back.
"I think there was a little bit of players not really buying into what he's trying to achieve and it got him a little bit frustrated or insecure," defender Christian Fuchs said.
Ramírez was let go just 14 matches into the team's inaugural season, a curious move to outside observers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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