In front of a rocking Finley Stadium, Chattanooga FC and Chattanooga Red Wolves needed penalties to separate the Scenic City’s two professional soccer teams in their first ever encounter.
An at-times feisty Chattanooga Derby drew 12,131 fans for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Second Round matchup, and the on-field performance did not disappoint. In a game of close margins, set pieces provided the only goals and were the biggest threat throughout the 120 minutes.
With nothing to split the sides following extra-time, the game went to penalties after an intense back-and-forth. The Red Wolves won the shootout 5-4 thanks to a Ricardo Jerez save on Daniel Mangarov’s spot kick, sparking wild celebrations from the traveling fans.
“That was a lot of fun,” Scott Mackenzie, Red Wolves head coach, said. “We showed tonight that this is a soccer city, both sides.”
It took CFC just over 90 seconds to set the tone for the night with an early foul. Four minutes later, another one set the Red Wolves up perfectly for a free-kick on the edge of the penalty arc. Omar Hernandez stepped up and deftly lofted the ball over the wall and into the bottom right corner, leaving Eldin Jakupovic stranded.
“That gave us a nice little early boost,” Mackenzie said. “I think we should have capitalized on it more. We could have settled the game and controlled a little bit.”
Steeve Louis Jean, who gave up the free-kick with a foul on Matthew Bentley, nearly made immediate amends for CFC. As the hosts attacked the other end, the young midfielder took a powerful shot from the edge of the five-yard box, but it was straight at the goalkeeper who parried it out for a corner.
The resulting corner was headed over by Logan Brown, but it was a sign of Chattanooga FC’s growing presence in the game.
Ten minutes later, another corner led to the equalizing free-kick. Despite a clearing header at the front post, CFC played the ball around the box before drawing a foul on the right side of the penalty area. Mangarov stepped up and sent a left-footed rocket into the upper 90.
While Jakupovic had been left motionless on his line for Hernandez’ free-kick earlier in the game, Jerez’ full-length dive could do nothing to prevent the 1-1.
The equalizer confirmed the switch in momentum as Chattanooga FC started dominating the game, coming close with another corner in the 26th minute, when Callum Watson’s header dropped inches wide of the post. Robertson then sent a free-kick crashing onto the crossbar seven minutes later as CFC continued to look like the most likely team to break the deadlock.
They thought they had done so in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time after bundling in a corner, but the referee called it back for a foul on a defending Red Wolves player.
“It’s one of those, a set-piece that on another day goes in and the game potentially changes,” Chris Nugent, Chattanooga FC head coach, said. “We had some good opportunities, and that’s all we ask. From open play, from set-pieces, can we create some good opportunities? We did that, but unfortunately today just wasn’t our day to finish them.”
The second half was more even, though CFC went closest to getting the crucial go-ahead goal. They would have done so from yet another free-kick, this one swung in from the side, if not for a full-extension save low to his right by Jerez.
The Red Wolves’ best chance of the half came from a shot from distance by second-half substitute Alhassam Alhassam, but the powerful drive was straight at Jakupovic.
As the minutes ticked on, the tension in the stadium and on the field continued to grow until finally boiling over with a brief melee in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time. After separating the two teams, the referee administered yellow cards to CFC’s Mangarov and Red Wolves’ Jerez and Owen Green. It was a sign of the growing feistiness in the local rivalry game, which ended with six yellow cards to the hosts and seven to the visitors.
“Whatever side of the fence you sit on, you’ll be able to see that there are instigators on both sides, no doubt,” Mackenzie said. “And both teams lost control sometime and regained it, and I think that’s what derby football should look like. I think there should be an intensity beyond normal; that was there. I think there should be a competitiveness beyond normal; that was there. And I think it was two teams who were really going out to try and win a football game.”
Both teams had already gone to extra-time in their first round matchups, winning in the 112th for CFC and on penalties for the Red Wolves. That prior experience was clear as neither overcommitted in the extra half-hour, with big chances few and far between.
The final opportunity went the Red Wolves’ way in the 120th minute, when a long throw into the box bounced around the five-yard box before Jakupovic could pounce on it. Red Wolves’ Eric Kinzner went for the ball even after the keeper had it in his grasp, resulting in another scrum, a brief injury break for the CFC goalkeeper, and a yellow card for the visiting defender.
Moments later, the referee signalled for full-time, sending the game to penalties.
Mangarov, CFC’s goalscorer, went first, but Jerez read the shot and dived well to save it in the bottom right corner. The next seven penalties all hit the back of the net, prompting a do-or-die moment for CFC’s Ethan Dudley with his team’s fifth attempt.
Though Jerez saved Dudley’s penalty initially, the goalkeeper had come off his line and Dudley got to retake it, making no mistake at the second attempt. The decision made no difference in the end, as Green stepped up for the Red Wolves to make it 5-4 and send his team into tomorrow’s Third Round Draw.
“Penalties aren’t about ability, they’re about mindset,” Mackenzie said. “And I keep praising these guys’ mindset. That’s why we won today.
“Obviously very proud of my guys,” he added. “The intensity, the grit, the personality they showed, it’s massive.”
As Red Wolves players and fans celebrated getting the win, with one visitor rushing to plant a red flag in the CFC center circle, Chattanooga players went over to applaud the thousands of home fans who showed up early and sang the whole way through.
“It’s huge,” Nugent said. “We know that the community loves us, the fan support is excellent.
“It means a ton to us,” he added. “It’s what makes the club so special, and it’s bigger than just a game. It’s what people give to us and what we can give to them. I wish we could have sent them home a little bit happier with it, but I’m proud of the display we had. And, like I said, I think another goal and there’s a party tonight.”
The Red Wolves will discover their Third Round opponent at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow, with games set to be played April 15 and 16. Before then, they will turn their attention to their USL League 1 game against South Georgia Tormenta on Saturday.
Chattanooga FC will look to bounce back from their disappointment when they return to MLS NEXT Pro action Saturday against Orlando City II.