After a one-hour weather delay, Chattanooga Football Club fought to its first goalless draw since joining MLS NEXT Pro on Saturday evening as Philadelphia Union II visited Finley Stadium for the first time.
After the draw, the visitors won the extra point on offer after a marathon penalty shootout ended 9-8 in Philadelphia's favor.
Chattanooga created multiple goalscoring chances in the first half. Daniel Mangarov produced the game's first shot on target, and the talented winger also had a header strike the crossbar in the 20th minute. Scandinavian duo Peter Plougmand and Markus Naglestad both had shots saved by Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick as well. The half ended after Nick Mendonca attempted a shot from just outside the penalty area and it whizzed inches wide of Rick's post.
CFC nearly went in front four minutes into the second when captain Farid Sar-Sar got on the end of a free-kick and saw his header cleared off the line. Overall, chances were harder to come by in the second half. Mangarov had the biggest chance of the second half when Keegan Ancelin played him a through pass, however Rick was able to make another big save for Philadelphia and the match ended goalless. Philadelphia won the extra point after 24 spot-kicks.
Head Coach Chris Nugent's side still leads the Eastern Conference and overall league standings.
"I felt we played quite well tonight and created a lot of chances and probably deserved to win," said Nugent in his post-match press conference. "But to not get the extra point doesn't feel like a consolation, but this is the league and how it is. Last year we benefited greatly from them, but to play quite well and then go that long into the penalties and lose them feels a bit like an energy drainer.
"I felt our reaction today following our defeat last weekend was excellent. We created a lot of good chances in the first half and the goalkeeper made two high-level saves. With just a little more cleanliness in the finish, it could have been very different. I was pleased with the response at halftime last week and pleased with today. Philadelphia's a really good team—it's quite clear when you watch them play. I felt we gave more than enough to deserve to win that today, but that's football."
CFC has back-to-back road trips coming up. The team will travel to Ontario, Canada for its next league match at Toronto FC II on Friday, May 9th at 7:00 p.m. EST at York Lions Stadium before a shorter trip over to Huntsville on Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 p.m. EST at Wicks Family Field. The club's next home league match at Finley Stadium will take place on Saturday, May 24th at 7:00 p.m. EST against New England Revolution II. Tickets are on sale now.
Noteworthy
- Chris Nugent made three changes to the starting XI from the last match at Columbus Crew 2 on April 27th—Ethan Dudley, Peter Plougmand and Markus Naglestad came in for Milo Garvanian, Jesus Ibarra and Minjae Kwak
- Peter Plougmand made his first MLS NEXT Pro start for Chattanooga FC
- Defender Mike Bleeker (signed earlier this week) and goalkeeper J.P. Philpot both made their first appearance on a matchday roster for Chattanooga FC