Justin Meram scored two goals against one of his former teams as Charlotte FC made good use of its few scoring chances to defeat host Atlanta United 3-1 on Saturday night.
Karol Swiderski also scored and goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made one save, helping Charlotte FC (4-5-3, 15 points) to its second MLS win in a row.
Charlotte’s two goals in the second half came after a red card on Atlanta’s Andrew Gutman.
Juan Jose Purata scored in the 86th minute for Atlanta (5-4-3, 18 points), which has dropped three games in a row. Goalkeeper Quentin Westberg had one save.
Meram, playing in his third game for Charlotte, posted his first goal with his new team. His previous teams also include Atlanta. The winger was traded last month from Real Salt Lake to Charlotte.
Meram’s first goal came in the 18th minute on Charlotte FC’s only shot of the first half. A cross from Ashley Westwood sailed above just above everyone in the box, setting up Meram for an uncontested shot near the left-center of the box. The ball went into the upper-left corner of the net.
Atlanta had six first-half shots, but only one shot that was on goal.
Gutman was gone after a foul in the penalty area. Charlotte converted with Swiderski’s penalty kick in the 52nd minute, with Westberg diving to his right and the ball going in the other direction. It marked Swiderski’s third goal of the season.
Then about five minutes later, Meram scored again. Kamil Jozwiak made the pass that earned an assist, getting deep into the box and passing back to Meram.
Purata, a defender, had his first goal of the season. That tally came off Thiago Almada’s corner kick, with Purata’s header putting the ball barely inside the far post.
Atlanta finished with a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.
–Field Level Media