Chattanooga FC fell 2-0 to regional rivals Huntsville City FC on Saturday night at Finley Stadium.
The teams were evenly matched through most of the first half, but it was the hosts that created the most dangerous chances. Tate Robertson struck the post on two occasions, first from a corner kick and second from open play. Alex Krehl had a chance of his own in the 37th minute, but his shot flew a foot high.
CFC outshot Huntsville City 5-2 in the first half, but the two sides went into the break level at 0-0.
Misei Yoshizawa opened the scoring for Huntsville just after halftime to put the visitors ahead 1-0.
Chattanooga nearly equalized in the 56th minute when Damien Barker John was awarded a penalty kick from the spot, but his shot was stopped by Huntsville goalkeeper Will Mackay.
Newcomer Alexis Arrúa checked into the match in the 67th minute, marking the 21-year-old's debut for the Scenic City. Another positive from the evening was that both Kenneth Tsokli and Yuval Cohen made the matchday roster for the first time this season.
Goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović stayed busy at the end of the half, but the veteran kept Chattanooga within striking distance. Despite not leveling, CFC led second-half possession at 59%.
Malachi Molina found the back of the net for Huntsville in stoppage time to put the Rocket City up 2-0 at the end of the night.
"The objective is to always win, so in that regard we failed to meet the objective," said Interim Head Coach Richard Dixon in the post-match press conference. "The guys played well. For the majority of the game, they played a good game, but good is not good enough for us in this league. We played well defensively in the first half and stuck to the game plan and created a few chances as well and didn't execute in the key moments and at the end of the day that's what it comes down to."
Chattanooga FC will hit the road for its next pair of matches, facing Inter Miami CF II on May 8 before traveling to FC Cincinnati 2 for the first time on May 17. CFC will be back in action at Finley Stadium when they host Carolina Core on May 24 at 3:00 p.m. ET for the latest edition of the Independent Derby. Tickets are on sale at CFCTIX.com.