Chattanooga Football Club came from behind and defeated Atlanta United 2-1 at Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon in what was the club's first-ever victory over a Major League Soccer side.
Atlanta opened the scoring in the 80th minute when Ronan Wynne headed in from a Saba Lobjanidze corner kick. However, Chattanooga answered right back. Jesus Ibarra showed his superb skill and technique when he rounded Atlanta keeper Josh Cohen to equalize. It would be CFC that would have the final word when two trialists connected from a free-kick in the 87th minute to seal the historic victory.
"It's really pleasing," said Chattanooga FC Head Coach Chris Nugent. "We've had such a short preseason. One of the things we've been speaking about is how we respond to adversity and how we deal with difficult situations. Going a goal down fairly late on from a set piece can be frustrating, so seeing the guys continuing to press and get numbers forward, that's really reassuring after two weeks of training."
An even first half saw each side produce a goalscoring chance. Markus Naglestad was played through on goal in the 29th minute and had a clear sight of goal but Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan thwarted the chance. Five minutes later, Atlanta midfielder Alexey Miranchuk attempted a shot just outside the penalty area that shaved the outside of Eldin Jakupović's right post, but the sides would ultimately go in at the break goalless.
Chattanooga dominated spells of the second half and took the game to the opponent at times, but it was Atlanta who found the breakthrough from a set piece with ten minutes to go. CFC continued to press and Ibarra was awarded with his effort when he equalized. It would be a trialist that found the winning goal, poking home from close range from a free-kick, and Chattanooga's own Michael Barrueta made a stunning save in the final seconds to cap off a day the city will never forget.
"It's still preseason, so it's important to stay grounded," said Nugent. "Had we lost today we wouldn't have felt it was the end of the world. After two weeks of training and then to beat a very good team is a good boost going into the remainder of the season. It's definitely a good starting point."
Box Score
Chattanooga FC - Atlanta United
Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Attendance: 4,109
Final score:
CFC: 2
ATL: 1
Scoring summary:
80': Wynne - ATL
82': Ibarra - CFC
87': Trialist - CFC
Line-ups:
CFC starters: Eldin Jakupović; Milo Garvanian, Farid Sar-Sar, Trialist, Tate Robertson, Steeve Louis Jean, Callum Watson, Darwin Ortiz, Jalen James, Minjae Kwak, Markus Naglestad
Substitutes: Michael Barrueta, Robert Screen, Logan Brown, Nick Mendonca, Ameziane Sid Mohand, Jesus Ibarra
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
ATL starters: Brad Guzan, Dominik Chong Qui, Luis Abram, Noah Cobb, Matthew Edwards, Mateusz Klich, Tristan Muyumba, Luke Brennan, Alexey Miranchuk, Xande Silva, Jamal Thairé
Substitutes: Josh Cohen, Efrain Morales, Stian Gregersen, Ronald Hernandez, Ronan Wynne, Jay Fortune, Bartosz Slisz, Edwin Mosquera, Will Reilly, Saba Lobjanidze, Cayman Togashi
Head Coach: Ronny Deila
CFC Communications