Chattanooga FC’s (3-1-1) string of road matches continues on Tuesday, when they take on division-leading Asheville SC (3-1-1) at Memorial Stadium.
Chattanooga is playing the third of four games in a 10-day span, and fatigue will certainly be a factor for the players and affect the game plan for coach Bill Elliott.
“We’re trying to stay as healthy as we can, and we’ll go on the road and fight for points,” said coach Elliott, “For us, we’ve got to monitor the health of these guys. We’ve got to put that first, and hope the team we select can get us points.”
Both teams are on three-game winning streaks. Chattanooga went down to McDonough and bested the Georgia Revolution last Saturday after overcoming a shaky start to the match.
“Coaches made good points at halftime, and we made those corrections,” said Chattanooga midfielder Juan Hernandez, “Then the people who stepped on the field stepped on there with the right mentality.”
CFC defender Everson Lima had one of the more memorable goals of the season when he headed in a ball from at least 30 yards away to give CFC what would be the winning goal.
“Yeah, I can’t remember in my career of watching, playing, or coaching see a header from that far away go in the goal,” said coach Elliott, “It was pretty wild.”
Asheville defeated Inter Nashville to keep their winning streak alive on June 1. They were supposed to play Greenville FC on June 8, but that match was postponed until a later date due to weather.
Frank Rosenwald is Asheville’s most prolific goal-scorer with three on the season. The England native and recent Georgia State graduate is followed by Christopher Allan, who has put in two goals on the season.
Chattanooga has been the most consistent team in the Southeast Conference, at least from a scoring perspective. Chattanooga has yet to score fewer than two goals in any regular season match, with their high being four against Inter Nashville.
A win against Asheville SC would vault Chattanooga to the top of the league standings.