With the score between Chattanooga Football Club and the Georgia Revolution tied at one a piece, the saying “it’s sometimes better to be lucky than good” most certainly applied to Chattanooga’s second goal of the game as CFC avenged an earlier loss.
It all started with a lackluster clearance by Georgia off of a Chattanooga throw in. The ball flew out to CFC’s sturdy defender Everson Lima, who used his head to blast the ball back into the box. As the Georgia goalkeeper came out of his netted cave, the ball hit the ground in front of him and rocketed at an upward angle. The keeper could only helplessly watch the ensuing event unfold behind him.
Rather than bounce straight up, the ball ricocheted off the ground at an angle and toward the net. It flew right over his head and made itself at home in the back of the net, giving CFC a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute, one they would not relinquish.
It was a bit of redemption for Lima, who atoned for his earlier mistake.
Georgia got on the scoreboard first after Lima’s careless pass was deflected toward Chattanooga keeper Phil D’Amico and his own goal. A Georgia player intercepted the pass, and crossed a pass of his own to Sajad Delane, who was unattended in front of the goal.
Delane had no issues with replacing a zero on the scoreboard with a one, and in the process he ended D’Amico’s 213-minute scoreless streak. He became the first player to score on Chattanooga since his teammate Jamar Oakley completed his hat trick against CFC in Finley Stadium on June 1.
Oakley was kept scoreless during the game, and Chattanooga tightened up the defense afterward, while flashing the form they had shown the previous two weeks. Mason Walsh gave Chattanooga its first goal after the team’s stellar defense turned a botched Georgia clearance into a chance for Walsh on the righthand corner of the box.
Walsh took aim and sent the ball hurtling toward the far left edge of the goal. Georgia’s goalkeeper never stood a chance at warding off such a precise strike, and the goal erased Chattanooga’s slim deficit.
After Lima’s miracle goal, Chattanooga was able to hold on for the win, even though Georgia had plenty of other chances to even the score. Their last opportunity came after a free kick sent the ball into the box, where a Georgia player was able to get his head on it and sent it driving goalward.
Phil D’Amico was in the right place at the right time though, and made a desperate and successful lunge in order to stop the score. Of course, it could be said that D’Amico’s brilliant save was for nothing, as it became clear that one of Georgia’s players had been called for offsides.
The game ended shortly thereafter, and Chattanooga now sits at 3-1-1. Their loss drops the Georgia Revolution to 1-4-1 in NPSL play.
Chattanooga hopes to extend their three-game winning streak next week when they face division-leading Asheville City SC in North Carolina.