Chattanooga FC defeated Toronto FC II 2-1 at York Lions Stadium on Friday evening to extend its lead in the Eastern Conference to six points.
Peter Plougmand opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he glanced in a header from a pinpoint-accurate cross delivered by Tate Robertson after a well-worked corner-kick routine straight off the training ground.
Plougmand turned provider when he found Minjae Kwak on a counter-attack, and the winger doubled the visitors' lead right before the half-time whistle with a sublime curling finish.
CFC showed another side of its game in the second half. Despite a late consolation goal from Toronto's Jahmarie Nolan, the team battled through to ultimately secure another crucial three points in the early stages of the season.
With the victory tonight, Head Coach Chris Nugent's side extends its lead at the top of the Eastern Conference and remains top of the overall league standings.
"It's a positive result," said Nugent. "We always talk about processes of what we do to get a win, and sometimes we forget the process of defending or counter-attacking is important too. I felt we created some good chances—maybe not to the volume that I would have liked—and on the other side, even when they had the ball for long periods, they didn't create anything too clear-cut.
"The set-piece goal was excellent. I'm always partial to a set-piece goal. That's something that we worked on. To have Daniel [Mangarov] combine with Callum [Watson] and find Tate; we know Tate's got an excellent pass in that area. Peter [Plougmand] was in the position and there were two or three players near him that would have also been in a good goalscoring position, so that was really pleasing. The second goal showed our ability to counter effectively. Minjae [Kwak] attacked down that side well and I'm really pleased for Minjae. He had a good end to the season last year and then got injured, so to come back and to score a goal, it had a huge impact, especially right before half-time."
The team will now prepare for a short trip to Huntsville on Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 p.m. EST at Wicks Family Field. The men's team's next home league match at Finley Stadium will take place on Saturday, May 24th at 7:00 p.m. EST against New England Revolution II. Tickets are on sale now.
Man of the Match: Nathan Koehler
Box Score
Toronto FC II (3W-3L-2D, 11 pts.) - Chattanooga FC (6W-1L-2D, 21 pts.)
York Lions Stadium | Toronto, Ont.
Final score:
TOR: 1
CFC: 2
Scoring summary:
11': Peter Plougmand - CFC
45': Minjae Kwak - CFC
88': Jahmarie Nolan - TOR