Chattanooga FC faced off against Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union II on Thursday night, and were defeated 3-1 with goalkeeper Jean Antoine sent off midway through the second half.
Philadelphia took an early lead in the sixth minute of play when the club's top assist provider CJ Olney combined with the club's top goalscorer Edward Davis in a well-worked counter-attack.
However, CFC responded superbly to the early setback and took control of the half. Playing in a new-look formation, CFC was able to dominate in midfield and create chances. Mehdi Ouamri had multiple chances, created both by his team-mates and himself, however he was unable to find an early equalizer.
The breakthrough for CFC came in the 34th minute when Milo Garvanian's corner kick was met definitively by towering center-back Duvan Viafara for the Colombian's second goal of the season.
Captain Alex McGrath finished the first half by intercepting a ball at the halfway line and breaking through but his long-distance strike was saved by Michael Sheridan.
Sporting Director and Rod Underwood made one substitution at half-time with Joseph Perez for Milo Garvanian.
Philadelphia regained its lead shortly after the break in the 48th minute when Cavan Sullivan found space inside CFC's penalty area and slotted home at the near post.
CFC's task became much more challenging when goalkeeper Jean Antoine was shown a direct red card in the 65th minute for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Philadelphia doubled its lead six minutes later when substitute Leandro Soria Zarate poked home from close range.
"We're disappointed. I was expecting a different performance that we didn't get tonight," said Underwood. "We gave up another early goal, but we fought back nicely to get a goal. I thought we finished the half well. We started the second half slowly and gave up a goal and then the wheels fell off.
"The message to the team was centered on the accumulation of the last three games. We've created a winning culture at this club and we're not going to accept anything less. We need to have a heart-to-heart with the coaching staff and the players. I think the players need to think about what they want and have a conversation amongst themselves as well.
"I was happy with the shape. The back three was ok. But it comes down to the work. In the first goal we didn't do the work in transition, which I spoke about before the game and it cost us. We scored a nice goal off a corner. We gave up an easy goal in the first five minutes of the second half. I thought the shape created a little more directness for us. I hope we come out against Carolina and play well and play with urgency, grit and determination, get a clean sheet and pick up three points."
The result sees CFC remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference table on 28 points.
Chattanooga FC will now face fellow Independent side Carolina Core for the third and final time this regular season on Wednesday, July 17th in High Point, North Carolina for a 6:30 p.m. ET kick-off.
CFC returns to Finley Stadium in Matchweek 19 with a Southeast Division match against Orlando City B on Saturday July 27th at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now.
Box Score:  
Philadelphia Union II (11W-3L-3D, 2SOW, 38 pts. - 1st in East) - Chattanooga FC (6W-5L-6D, 4SOW, 28 pts. - 4th in East) 
Subaru Park | Chester, Pa.
Final score:
PHI: 3
CFC: 1
Scoring summary:
6': Davis - PHI
34': Viafara - CFC
48': Sullivan - PHI
71': Soria Zarate - PHI
Stats (PHI/CFC):
Possession: 58% / 42%
xG: 3.5 / 1.14
Shots: 20 / 7
Shots on goal: 7 / 3
Blocked shots: 3 / 2
Total passes: 353 / 334
Passing accuracy percentage: 82.4 / 79.6
Corners: 3 / 7
Total crosses: 7 / 4
Offsides: 1 / 3
Goalkeeper saves: 2 / 4
Clearances: 3 / 6
Fouls: 18 / 12
Discipline:
24’ - Caution: CFC - Watson (yellow card)
51' - Caution: CFC - Ouamri (yellow card)
55' - Caution: PHI - Pierre (yellow card)
63' - Caution: CFC - Prepelita (yellow card)
65' - Dismissal: CFC - Antoine (red card)
81' - Caution: PHI - Anderson (yellow card)
Line-ups:
PHI starters: Michael Sheridan; Gavin Wetzel, Neil Pierre, Carlos Rojas (Jamir Berdecio 54'), Francis Westfield (C); Sanders Ngabo (Randy Meneses Garcia 90'+5), CJ Olney, David Vazquez (Nick Pariano 78'), Cavan Sullivan (Kyle Tucker 68'); Markus Anderson, Edward Davis (Leandro Soria Zarate 68')
Substitutes not used: Gavin Atkinson, Kellan LeBlanc, Jamir Johnson, Henry Bernstein
Head Coach: Marlon LeBlanc
CFC starters: Jean Antoine (Red card dismissal 65'); Jesse Williams, Anatolie Prepelita, Duvan Viafara; Farid Sar-Sar (Andres Jimenez Aranzazu 80'), Milo Garvanian (Joseph Perez 46'), Alex McGrath (C), Callum Watson (Jalen James 80'); Minjae Kwak (Jonathan Burke 67'), Taylor Gray (Luis Garcia Sosa 89'), Mehdi Ouamri
Substitutes not used: Logan Brown, Ethan Koren
Head Coach: Rod Underwood
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