Chattanooga Football Club defeated Carolina Core FC 2-0 in the first battle of independent teams in MLS NEXT Pro history in front of nearly 4,000 fans at Finley Stadium.
Jesus Ibarra scored the opener in the seventh minute when Callum Watson found him with space on the left wing and Ibarra curled in his third goal of the season. Milo Garvanian scored his first professional goal in the second half with a wonderful curling effort to ensure the Boys in Blue returned to winning ways.
Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood made six changes to the starting line-up from the club's 1-0 defeat by Atlanta United 2. Jean Antoine, Duvan Viafara, Callum Watson, Andres Jimenez Aranzazu, Jesus Ibarra and Mehdi Ouamri came in for Jonathan Burke, Farid Sar-Sar, Alex McGrath, Luis Garcia Sosa, Jalen James and Carlos Rivas.
Chattanooga FC finish the day at the top of both the Eastern Conference and Southeast Division ahead of a ten-match slate in the league tomorrow.
Chattanooga FC will now look forward to another Southeast Division matchup, this time against Orlando City B, on Saturday, May 4th at 5:00 p.m. ET at Finley Stadium for Star Wars Night. Tickets are on sale now.
Final Score:
CFC: 2
CCFC: 0
Scoring Summary:
CFC: Jesus Ibarra 7'
CFC: Milo Garvanian 75'
Discipline:
CFC: Jude Arthur (caution) 55'
CCFC: Derek Cuevas (caution) 56'
CFC: Jesus Ibarra (caution) 58'
CFC: Callum Watson (caution) 60'
CFC: Milo Garvanian (caution) 68'