Chattanooga FC fell 5-2 to New York Red Bulls II in a top-of-the-table clash in the Eastern Conference at MSU Soccer Park on Sunday afternoon.
Despite a strong and imposing start from CFC, it was the hosts that opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Nehuen Benedetti. Juan Gutierrez doubled New York's lead in the 44th minute with a header from a free-kick before Rafael Mosquera rubbed salt in the wound in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-0 at the break.
Mosquera needed just four minutes on the other side of the half for his second on the afternoon as the Panamanian converted a penalty kick.
CFC fought back and Tate Robertson converted a penalty of his own for his fourth on the season, after forward Peter Plougmand was felled in the area by goalkeeper Aidan Stokes.
Robertson then provided his league-leading seventh assist with a curled free-kick for Milo Garvanian who headed in to bring the match to 4-2 with a little over a quarter-hour remaining.
Ultimately, CFC would have to see out the match with ten men after midfielder Callum Watson was shown a second yellow card and dismissed with a red card.
New York had the final say in the last minute of stoppage time as Tanner Rosborough tapped in to make it 5-2 on the afternoon.
The result sees Head Coach Chris Nugent's side drop to second place in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference.
"I'm obviousy disappointed with the result," said Nugent. "There were some really good moments in the first half and second in terms of how we built and pressed. We weren't quite clean enough attacking-wise whereas they were very precise with their finishing. That put us under pressure. They took their chances well. To concede two right before half-time and then a penalty shortly after the break makes it really hard. I thought the guys were excellent in how they responded. We did create a lot of good chances, but we just weren't clinical enough with the finishing. Unfortunately that's part of the game. There's a lot of positives to take—it's tough to see those now with the emotions of a defeat—but we had good passages of play and showed moments of good resilience. We did cause some problems for a very good team. Hopefully by the time we get back to Finley we'll be ready to go again."
The team will look to bounce back with a return to Finley Stadium on Saturday, June 21st against FC Cincinnati 2.
Box Score
New York Red Bulls II (9W-2L-2D, 30 pts.) - Chattanooga FC (8W-3L-3D, 29 pts.)
MSU Soccer Park | Montclair, N.J.
Final score:
RBNY: 5
CFC: 2
Scoring summary:
14': Nehuen Benedetti - RBNY
44': Juan Gutierrez - RBNY
45'+3: Rafael Mosquera - RBNY
49': Rafael Mosquera (PK) - RBNY
56': Tate Robertson (PK) - CFC
68': Milo Garvanian - CFC
90'+7: Tanner Rosborough - RBNY
Stats (RBNY / CFC):
xG: 2.31+pk / 2.02
Possession: 47% / 53%
Shots: 16 / 9
Shots on goal: 6 / 3
Blocked shots: 6 / 1
Total passes: 551 / 452
Passing accuracy percentage: 86.2 / 80.5
Corners: 1 / 7
Total crosses: 1 / 7
Offsides: 3 / 1
Goalkeeper saves: 1 / 1
Clearances: 4 / 2
Fouls: 18 / 17
Discipline:
33' - CFC, Callum Watson (Caution)
48' - CFC, Nathan Koehler (Caution)
55' - RBNY, Aidan Stokes (Caution)
62' - CFC, Tate Robertson (Caution)
67' - RBNY, Jair Collahuazo (Caution)
82' - CFC, Callum Watson (Caution and Dismissal)
89' - CFC, Steeve Louis Jean (Caution)
Line-ups:
RBNY starters:Aidan Stokes, Juan Gutierrez, Copeland Berkley, Jair Collahuazo, Matthew Dos Santos (Curtis Ofori 63'), Steven Sserwadda, Nehuen Benedetti, Adri Mehmeti (C), Rafael Mosquera (Dylan Sullivan 85'), Aiden Jarvis, Tanner Rosborough
Substitutes not used:Austin Causey, Brooklyn Schwarz, Caio Ramalho Leite, Ibrahim Kasule, Malick Dembele, Mijahir Jimenez
Head Coach:Ibrahim Sekagya
CFC starters:Eldin Jakupovic, Milo Garvanian, Nathan Koehler, Farid Sar-Sar (C), Tate Robertson, Steeve Louis Jean, Robert Screen (Nick Mendonca 60'), Callum Watson, Daniel Mangarov (Colin Thomas 72'), Peter Plougmand (Markus Naglestad 60'), Jalen James (Minjae Kwak 72')
Substitutes not used:Michael Barrueta, Logan Brown, Darwin Ortiz
Head Coach:Chris Nugent