Chattanooga FC showed resilience and bravery coming off just three days' rest from the club's U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match with MLS side Atlanta United, but ultimately fell 1-0 to league leaders Crown Legacy FC in Matthews, North Carolina on Saturday night.
Interim Head Coach Richard Dixon made three changes to the team that started in that Open Cup clash with Atlanta United. Nathan Koehler, Luke Husakiwsky and Anthony Garcia came into the starting XI for Mattias Hanchard, Isaiah Jones and Alex McGrath.
CFC put in a strong first-half performance, which resulted in the half's best chances. The Boys in Blue got to Crown's goalline on multiple occasions and created high-quality opportunities from cut-back passes.
Garcia found Alex Krehl in the 35th minute, but the striker's effort flew just over the crossbar. Daniel Mangarov had the best chance of the opening half when Damien Barker John found him with another cut-back pass, but Crown keeper Quinn Syrett made a close-range, reflex save to send the sides into a stalemate at the half.
The turning point of the match came in the 72nd minute when Chattanooga FC left-back Anton Sorenson was given his second yellow card of the evening for a challenge inside Crown's penalty area, and therefore Sorenson was sent off by referee Amin Hadzic. Forward Hugo Mbongue converted the resulting spot-kick, which ultimately proved to be the winner.
The Boys in Blue can take a lot of credit from the performance following a three-match week which began with a dominant victory at home over Orlando City B.
Chattanooga FC will have a much-needed break before returning to Finley Stadium when the Scenic City hosts Southeast Division rivals Huntsville City FC on May 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now at CFCTIX.com.