Yahoo Finance Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina is finding his rhythm. ‘I feel really good’
For as strong as the defensive third was Saturday night in Charlotte FC’s scoreless draw with Montreal, there was a moment when the team needed some brilliance.
Enter goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
The moment came about 15 minutes into the game: Montreal’s Sunusi Ibrahim snuck through the home team’s back line unguarded and stayed onside long enough to legally receive a pass in the box. He then found himself all alone — one-on-one with Kahlina.
But instead of his shot finding the back of the net, it ricocheted off Kahlina’s outstretched left foot and was subsequently cleared by Charlotte.
The 31,000-plus fans let out a sigh of relief. So did head coach Christian Lattanzio.
Kahlina did, too, and might have even patted himself on the back.
“I think I made a good decision to stay more behind because he needed to take (the off-balance) shot,” Kahlina told reporters after the match Saturday. “If I went out on him, maybe he would just pass around me. It was a so-so save, but it was the perfect decision.”
KAHLINA KAHLINA pic.twitter.com/qITV1yjYfs
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) June 24, 2023
It’s in moments like these when you see the value Kahlina brings to a Charlotte FC team that’s still finding its way in the defensive third. Charlotte (6 wins, 8 losses, 6 draws) after Saturday’s clean sheet, is tied for first in most goals allowed in Major League Soccer at 35.
That not-ideal moniker is a result of an assortment of things. One of which is injuries: Central defender Bill Tuiloma (who has battled injury himself this year) played right-back Saturday, and Lattanzio has placed midfielder Brandt Bronico on the defensive line at times this season. CB Guzman Corujo has returned after an ACL tear last summer, but he’s still building back into the player he was. Adilson Malanda, a midseason signee last year who has impressed in MLS play, was out Saturday with an injury he suffered earlier this month, Lattanzio confirmed postgame.
Kahlina, too, has battled injury. Last year’s starter spent the bulk of this season to date recovering from back surgery — and Pablo Sisniega and George Marks had to play in his stead.
But he’s back, Kahlina said.
And he’s found a groove.
“I feel really good — better and better,” Kahlina said. “And now it’s just to take the form, I think I am in good form.”
Lattanzio agreed.
“We needed to give him time to come back,” Lattanzio said. “The same logic that applies to Guzman applies to Kristijan. Everybody remembers Kahlina as the guy who makes the top saves, but he’s coming back from an operation, from many weeks of inactivity, and so you couldn’t expect that the player who comes back is (fully ready) because his body is recovering, and so is his mind.”
He’s pretty much his old self again, Lattanzio said.
Added defender Jaylin Lindsey: “To be fair, it feels like he never was injured. He came back as he was before. Kahlina is a great keeper, and every game he keeps improving with his feet and with the saves.”
Kahlina wasn’t perfect on Saturday. The team tried to possess the ball from the back a few too many times in the first half on Saturday — and one of those saw a Kahlina pass intercepted by a Montreal winger in the box. The mistake came of no avail, but it made Bank of America Stadium squirm nonetheless.
“This is another aspect of the game we need to improve is how we build from the back,” Lattanzio said. “I think we kept doing the same thing and not getting success. So in those moments, I think Kahleh (nickname for Kahlina) and the defensive structure should’ve been a bit better when we build up. But it is something we will review.”
A clean sheet came nonetheless, thanks in large part to Kahlina being back in the net.
“The first few weeks that I trained, I felt really bad,” Kahlina said. “Not bad as in health, more in the form. I needed more time. But then when I started to play the games, it came more quickly. The last seven, eight games, I feel really good again.”
Good enough to bolster a defensive line in progress — and to save them when they need it.
“Little by little it is coming back to him,’ Lattanzio said, “and we are glad to have him.”
