Chattanooga Football Club played a home game at Finley Stadium on Saturday, June
22nd against Carolina Core FC. Up to this point, CFC had produced an exciting start to
the season. This put them ranked second in their conference standings without a single
loss at home for the blue. Unfortunately, the confidence was too high for this home
game. Carolina Core, looking to turn their season around, came out and shocked CFC
right from the kickoff and won 2-1.
It wasn’t long before the first goal was put on the board.
Unfortunately for Chattanooga
fans, it would come from the visiting team. Carolina would score in just the first four
minutes of the match. the possession was in their favor and found them open on the
wing. Joshua Rodriguez dribbled in toward goal to find Facundo Canete open in the box
to make it 1-0.
the CFC defense seemed to be one step behind from the beginning. They left Carolina
wingers with too much space which led to multiple strong scoring opportunities for their
opponents. Another goal would be scored in the 29 th minute to make it 2-0. Another
strong build up play on the sidelines with Jathan Jaurez leading the attack. Jaurez found
Rodriguez open in front of goal for a simple shot and goal.
After halftime, CFC picked up the level of play. They were ore attentive on defense and
found themselves in attacking scenarios more than not. This would keep the game at 2-
0 until finally CFC would create their first goal of the game. A substitution would put
forward Jalen James onto the wing. His pace and technical ability put him in scoring
position quickly. He took on the defense himself and smashed the ball into the back of
the net all the way from outside the box.
Despite the rain of hope from the last goal, there wasn’t much CFC could do to come
back from this one. emotions kicked in and players started to get hot headed, leading to
multiple cards. The biggest of these would be a second yellow, turned into a red, for cfc
defender, Anatolie Prepelita. He will miss the next match. The final whistle blew not long
after and the Carolina Core would take this one 2-1.
Jalen James, who proved to be a power substitution for CFC, was available for
questions after the match. Here is his perspective and his hopes for the team.
“It was very frustrating cause we didn’t get the result that we wanted, but I think we
showed a good team there in the second half. I’m thankful that I got the goal, but then
again, like I said, it is frustrating not getting the result we wanted. Especially at home
and in front of the fans. We always want to make them proud. It is frustrating, but I am
happy with how the team came back in the second half.”
Head Coach for Chattanooga, Roderick Underwood, spoke about his thoughts about
the loss and how they plan to go from there.
“We were second all day. It is just the reality. We were second all day long against
teams that we have been pulling out late. You can’t keep riding that horse right. You just
can’t. It was just the intangibles. The loose balls and the second balls. Just being
smarter and making decisions, and we just didn’t do it. Look, I expect a good response
from this group. I have a lot of faith in this group. I have a lot of belief in this group.”
Chattanooga will look to bounce back at home again in the next game against Crown
Legacy. This game will be played on Saturday, July 6 th at 7 p.m.. Be sure to show up
and support CFC back to their winning ways.