A tale of four halves as late night drama unraveled in the Chattanooga’s Red Wolves 4-2 victory over Brockton FC United in the opening round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Where to begin…
The first half forecasted a thumping at the hands of the Red Wolves, as Chattanooga’s offense overwhelmed the three defenders of Brockton. The swarm created havoc in the Brockton penalty box and forced two penalty kicks in the first half alone.
The first came in the 22nd minute and Chattanooga’s Omar Hernandez handed the Red Wolves their first lead of the night with the penalty goal. The goal would headstart the descent into physical madness for the remainder of the match.
As jerseys were tugged, bodies pushed, and chippy slide tackles were met, the ultra-aggressive Red Wolves would, yet again, be awarded a penalty kick in the 65th minute. Mirroring the first attempt, Chattanooga would grasp onto a two-goal lead behind the leg of Chevone Marsh.
Retaliation soon met the aggressive behaviors of both teams. Soon after the goal, multiple yellow cards were issued in succession. By the 70th minute, Brockton totaled four yellow cards while Chattanooga had one.
But the 76th minute is when the wheels fell off the wagon.
A skirmish within the Chattanooga goal led to pushing and shoving, ultimately ending with a Brockton forward landing on their back. A red card would be quickly shown to Red Wolves’ Omar Gomez Tapia. The red card was like blood in the water for Brockton.
With the momentum shifted, Brockton weaved attacks on the Chattanooga defense. Before stoppage time could be added, Brockton’s Wuilito Paulo Tavares Fernades flicked a header into the net, drawing blood as time was running out—enough motivation to push the limits of the Red Wolves’ defense.
The final minute of extra time saw yet another cross into the box and yet another header, this time by Brockton’s Leonardo Teixeira. It was like deja-vu. The ball collided with the net, as Teixeira was mauled by his own bench in celebration.
A hush was casted among the Chattanooga crowd and team.
They were in dire straits.
As we entered extra time, Brockton’s momentum carried over, but Chattanooga’s goalkeeper Timothy Trilk made improbable, and most certainly, game-defining saves.
“Tim is a winner,” said Red Wolves head coach Scott Mackenzie. “He has a ton of experience, and he showed it all tonight. He had a couple of huge saves for us. He showed his leadership in big-time minutes. He is a big reason why we got through this tonight.”
Little did Brockton know that midnight struck on their luck thanks to Red Wolves’ Ropapa Mensah. Mensah was unable to net two opportunities during the first 90-minutes, opportunities that any forward would salivate over.
“We believe in you,” Mackenzie told Mensah following the missed shots. “Our squad was built with Ropapa as a focal point and he came up big for us tonight. He will come up big for us all season.”
But, his redemption would slam the door shut on Brockton.
In the 117th minute, Mensah would mirror Brockton’s goals with his own rainbow-like header—whose pot of gold was at the back of the net.
As desperation quickly fell onto Brockton, Mensah would strike again. Quickly outpacing defenders while tracking down a lofted through ball, Mensah evaded the goalkeeper, maintained possession, turned and struck the ball from 20 yards from goal—perfectly center.
The goal sealed it. Chattanooga was able to breathe again.
Despite the match’s crazy heroics that would keep anyone in their seats, the sloppiness and control of the game was made evident by Mackenzie.
“I think the referee’s performance was appalling. It really jeopardized the health of our players. It jeopardized the game of football,” said Mackenzie. “I think if US Soccer really wants this to be a proper event then they need to do better.”
Totaling nine yellow cards and a red card, the match nearly mirrored a rough Sunday-league game. Yet, Chattanooga will not mind that, as they limp away with an opening round victory in the U.S. Open Cup.
