Chattanooga FC earned a crucial three points Saturday night at Finley Stadium in a 2-0 win over Columbus Crew 2.
Keegan Ancelin and Alex McGrath both scored late to ensure the Boys in Blue picked up its second league win of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season.
The majority of the match was played in unique circumstances after Damien Barker John perfectly placed a long-ball into chaos just outside the box, which resulted in Columbus' keeper Luke Pruter being sent off in just the second minute.
Chattanooga held possession for much of the first half, outshooting Columbus 8-1. Defender Yves Tcheuyap nearly scored a goal-of-the-year contender when his one-touch shot from the corner of the penalty area sailed just wide of the net, while Barker John and Anthony Garcia both had chances in the first half.
Nico Rincon nearly opened the scoring for Columbus with a free-kick that struck the crossbar in the 44th, but the match remained scoreless even after seven minutes of added time in the first half.
Chances continued in CFC's favor at the beginning of the second half, with near misses from Barker John and Alex Krehl.
It would be ten against ten in the final minutes of the match as Tcheuyap received a second yellow card and therefore was sent off in the 84th minute.
The breakthrough came just three minutes later. Ashton Gordon's brilliant cross found Ancelin, who finally broke the deadlock for Chattanooga with a strike that slotted into the bottom right corner of the net.
"I was just trying to hang around the back post," said Ancelin in his post-match press conference. "Ashton and I have been working on that in training, him whipping that ball to the back stick. I was ready for it. I saw the ball coming to him and I knew he was going to play it first time and I went in and it fell perfectly to me."
Just before the end of extra time, Gordon found Alex McGrath on a breakaway to make it 2-0 for the Boys in Blue and put the result beyond any doubt.
"It was a very stressful and anxious game of football," said Interim Head Coach Richard Dixon. "Being a man up for the majority of the game and not being able to put them away was a bit frustrating, but that's football. We had to be creative to break them down, especially a team that's already disciplined. The red card forced them to be more compact and conservative. I'm super relieved for the guys who came on and changed the game. Ashton [Gordon] and Keegan [Ancelin] added a little spark and energy to the attack."
Chattanooga FC returns to action on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. ET when it hosts Tennessee Tempo in the Second Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Tickets are on sale at CFCTIX.com.