Has the Chattanooga Football Club finally found their rhythm after an off-beat start to the season? Chattanooga is leaving Finley Stadium for a three match run on the road, and leave the Scenic City after demolishing their last two opponents by a combined margin of 7-0.
CFC followed up a breezy 4-0 shutout over interstate rival Nashville by blowing away Atlanta SC in a 3-0 rout. After what the midfielder called a subpar 2018, Zeca has returned to form in 2019, and has three goals in the last two matches.
But scoring is only half of the game. Prior to their pair of clean slates, Chattanooga’s defense was a sieve, allowing five goals in the last two league games, and nine if you include their exhibition against Real Betis. The low point came against a winless Georgia Revolution, when CFC blew a 2-1 lead in the second half, eventually falling 3-2.
However, the defense has improved immensely since then. Against Atlanta SC, Chattanooga’s back line choked the life out of any possible scoring opportunities by their opponent. CFC only conceded an astounding one shot on goal throughout the entire 90-minute match.
Chattanooga’s road trip starts in McDonough, Ga.,, where they have a chance to avenge their previous loss against the team that handed CFC their first defeat of the season. The Georgia Revolution found defensive success when they were physical against Chattanooga, drawing multiple yellow flags but seemingly disrupting Chattanooga’s “game” in the process.
But the biggest story of that night was the play of Jamar Oakley, who spent the entire night single-handedly tearing up Chattanooga’s defense. Oakley obliterated CFC to the tune of three goals in Georgia’s come-from-behind victory, with the final goal of the hat trick coming with only a few minutes left.
Chattanooga’s defense has improved since then, but the team will still need steady performances from Everson Lima and Jordan Dunstan in their third of the field in order to prevent a repeat of the last game.
The match kicks off at 7:30.