CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (August 3, 2024) — Chattanooga Football Club sealed an important two points against Toronto FC II in the first-ever encounter between the clubs.
Mehdi Ouamri scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the 36th minute when Jean Antoine's long pass found captain Alex McGrath, who found Ouamri to tap in from close range.
Toronto equalized in stoppage time through substitute Luca Accettola to send the game to penalties to decide the winner of the extra point.
CFC were flawless in the shootout, converting all five attempts, while Charlie Staniland struck the crossbar with Toronto's fourth attempt to bring the home side a crucial extra point in the standings.
Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood named an unchanged side from the team that defeated Orlando City B last weekend.
The result sees CFC move level with NYCFC II on 33 points and remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
"The last couple games we've scored first and that's a big deal for us," said Underwood in his post-match press conference. "The data will show you that first goals are really big. Five points from two games—we'd love to have got six—but in this league it's difficult."
Underwood also spoke about the importance of the depth of the team on show Saturday night.
"We made a lot of substitutions—we used them all. We changed over half the team and it really helped us. Points at home are important. We just have to make sure that we go to Huntsville and continue that. There's no easy team in this league. They have a good environment and will make it really difficult for us."
Chattanooga FC will now have a three-game stretch away from home, all against Southeast Division rivals, starting with a short trip to Huntsville City FC next Saturday before taking on Crown Legacy FC in Charlotte on Sunday August 18th and Inter Miami II on Sunday August 25th.
CFC's next home match will be on September 1st during Labor Day weekend against Atlanta United 2, which will see the return of fireworks. Tickets are on sale now.
Noteworthy
- Chattanooga FC has scored in every home match this season
- Mehdi Ouamri scored his club-leading eighth goal of the season
- Captain Alex McGrath moved up to five assists on the season, bringing him second only to Taylor Gray (six) on the team
- Substitute Logan Brown made his first appearance since the home opener on March 16th
Box Score
Chattanooga FC (7W-6L-7D, 5SOW, 33 pts.) - Toronto FC II (6W-8L-4D, 0SOW, 22 pts.)
Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Attendance: 3,769
Final score:
CFC: 1
TOR: 1
CFC wins shootout for extra point 5-3
Scoring summary:
36': Ouamri - CFC
90'+2: Accettola - TOR
Stats (CFC/TOR):
Possession: 40% / 60%
xG: 1.02 / 0.6
Shots: 5 / 14
Shots on goal: 2 / 4
Blocked shots: 0 / 6
Total passes: 424 / 556
Passing accuracy percentage: 85.5 / 89.6
Corners: 2 / 7
Free-kicks: 4 / 11
Total crosses: 4 / 8
Offsides: 0 / 1
Goalkeeper saves: 3 / 1
Clearances: 17 / 1
Fouls: 14 / 3
Discipline:
22' - CFC: Garvanian (Caution)
27' - TOR: Edwards (Caution)
70'- TOR: Rigopoulos (Caution)
90'+8 - CFC: Jimenez Aranzazu (Caution)
90'+9: - CFC: Perez (Caution)
Line-ups:
CFC starters: Jean Antoine; Milo Garvanian, Farid Sar-Sar, Duvan Viafara (Logan Brown 67'), Joseph Perez; Jude Arthur (Minjae Kwak 46'), Andres Jimenez Aranzazu, Luis Garcia Sosa (Callum Watson 82'), Alex McGrath (C); Taylor Gray (Jalen James 73'), Mehdi Ouamri (Ethan Koren 82')
Substitutes not used: Jonathan Burke, Michael Barrueta, Robert Screen, Jesse Williams
Head Coach: Rod Underwood
TOR starters: Adisa De Rosario; Mark Fisher, Marko Stojadinovic, Ythallo Rodrigues de Olivera; Nathaniel Edwards, Andrei Dumitru (Theo Rigopoulous 61'), Lucas Olguin (Adam Pearlman 81'), Charlie Staniland, Jesus Batiz; Hassan Ayari (Luca Accettola 89'), Matthew Catavolo (Charlie Sharp 46')
Substitutes not used: Abe Rodriguez, Markus Cimermancic, Richard Chukwu, Tyler Londono, Joses Chukwu
Head coach: Marco Casalinuovo
Post-game reaction
