Chattanooga Football Club beat Inter Miami II for the second consecutive time this season as a late Mehdi Ouamri wonder goal sealed a 2-1 victory at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ensured CFC jump to the top of the league's overall standings.
Jesus Ibarra opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Taylor Gray beat his defender on the right channel before clipping in a cross to Ibarra, who chested to control the ball before volleying in a shot that deflected off Inter Miami II defender Nyk Sessock on its way in.
CFC continued its dominance in the first half. Alex McGrath had a shot blocked and Mehdi Ouamri miscontrolled a chance to double the lead before the break.
Half-time substitute Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida brought Miami level just over a minute after the break when Ryan Carmichael won the ball high up the field and found Zeltzer-Zubida, who dribbled past Jean Antoine and Duvan Viafara before finding the bottom corner.
Chattanooga FC thought it regained the lead midway through the second half when Ouamri chipped a shot in the back of the net, however referee Alex Beehler and crew called for offside.
However, Ouamri would have the final word as the striker found the winner in spectacular fashion, holding off multiple defenders before lofting in a shot from a far and acute angle that soared over keeper Cole Jensen before hitting the post and crossing the goalmouth.
The result sees Chattanooga FC finish the evening top of the league and become the first club to reach 20 points in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season. CFC will now travel to Charlotte to face Crown Legacy FC on Wednesday, May 15th at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Notes
- Rod Underwood selected an unchanged line-up for the first time this season
- Jesus Ibarra scored his fourth goal of the season to join Alex McGrath at the top of the club's goalscorers' list
- Mehdi Ouamri scored his third goal of the season and in consecutive matches in the league
- Taylor Gray provided his fifth assist of the season, seeing him join New England Revolution II's Marcos Dias, Tacoma Defiance's Georgi Minoungou, Ventura County's Jonathan Perez and New York Red Bulls II's Mohammed Sofu at the top of the league leaderboard for assists
Quotes
Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood reacted to the victory in Miami.
"At the end of the day we're on the road, we picked up three points, and that's good for us," said Underwood. "Are we looking for improvement and for more? Yes, we're looking for a lot more. But we got three points on the road."
On the reasoning behind starting with an unchanged line-up for the first time this season:
"I thought we played well in the last game, but obviously now with a quick turnaround we need to reevaluate that."
On his view of Ouamri's winning goal and if he thinks his striker meant it as a shot or pass:
"Look, I don't know if it was a shot... I'll accept it (smiles) and we move on from here."
On the quick turnarund to face Crown Legacy in Charlotte on Wednesday evening:
"Mentally, it will be a tough game. Crown are in good form. This league is not easy. This league is difficult with young players that really fight, and we just come to play."
Box Score:  
Inter Miami II (3W-4L-1D, 0SOW, 10 pts.) - Chattanooga FC (5W-1L-3D, 2SOW, 20 pts.)  
Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Final Score: 
MIA: 1
CFC: 2
Scoring Summary:   
CFC: Jesus Ibarra 13'
MIA: Zeltzer-Zubida 46'
CFC: Mehdi Ouamri 86'
Discipline:      
CFC: Mehdi Ouamri (caution) 24'
MIA: Dairon Reyes (caution) 28'
MIA: Cesar Ezequiel Abadia-Reda (caution) 45'+4
CFC: Jude Arthur (caution) 56'
CFC: Joseph Perez (caution) 74'
CFC: Milo Garvanian (caution) 81'
MIA: Pep Casas (caution) 82'
Stats (MIA/CFC):
Possession: 46% / 56%
xG: 1.2 / 0.47
Shots: 10 / 16
Shots on goal: 3 / 6
Blocked shots: 3 / 5
Total passes: 338 / 544
Passing accuracy percentage: 79.6 / 86.6
Corners: 1 / 4
Total crosses: 10 / 4
Offsides: 2 / 4
Goalkeeper saves: 4 / 2
Clearances: 9 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 15
Line-ups:
MIA starters: Cole Jensen, Santiago Garcia (Samuel Basabe 46'), Tyler Hall (Yuval Cohen 47'), Tye Barton (Lesther Garcia-Spencer 80'), Nyk Sessock, Cesar Ezequiel Abadia-Reda, Ricardo Montenegro, Pep Casas (Bryan Destin 87'), Dairon Reyes, Santiago Morales (C) (Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida 46'), Ryan Carmichael
Substitutes not used: Owen Finnerty, Israel Boatwright, Jack Pymm, Alejandro Flores De La Paz
Head Coach: Federico Higuain
CFC starters: Jean Antoine, Joseph Perez, Anatolie Prepelita, Duvan Viafara, Milo Garvanian, Jude Arthur (Farid Sar-Sar 85'), Andres Jimenez Aranzazu, Alex McGrath (C), Taylor Gray, Jesus Ibarra (Jalen James 68'), Mehdi Ouamri
Substitutes not used: Jonathan Burke, Jesse Williams, Luis Garcia Sosa, Ethan Koren, Damian Rodriguez, Carlos Rivas
Head Coach: Rod Underwood
