3-3 thriller in Chattanooga
Hosts win shootout after coming from behind
The result, a tie, was fair. After a first half in which an unfancied Miami, led by Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida, stunned the 3,361 fans in Finley Stadium to take a 3-1 lead, and a second half in which Chattanooga, under pressure after a recent loss and playing in front of an expectant crowd, showed tremendous resilience and belief to force a 3-3 draw; both sides and their coaches deserve huge credit for how they reacted to adversity tonight.
Those three-and-a-half thousand spectators got their money’s worth, treated to six goals, five of them of high quality, and another nail-biting shootout. Given the weather that had battered the Scenic City just hours before, the crowd was impressive.
While Zeltzer-Zubida’s two excellent goals for Miami afford him huge credit on the night, the story of the evening probably belongs to Tate Robertson and Jalen James of Chattanooga. Robertson, almost single-handedly at times, hauled his side back into this game with stubborn, never-say-die commitment and effort. And James, so long away through injury, came on as a late substitute and took his goal well to level things up. This was a cracker of a game!
And it started so well for the visitors. After only seven minutes, a pinpoint, lobbed pass from goalkeeper Matias Marin found Zeltzer-Zubida in behind the defense. The 19-year-old kept his cool to calmly slot the ball past Chattanooga keeper Eldin Jakupović to give the Herons an early advantage. CFC’s entire backline was caught-out by the ball and Zeltzer-Zubida’s run, something Jakupović and Head Coach Chris Nugent will have been furious with. This takes nothing away from Zeltzer-Zubida’s move, his first touch, and the deft finish, all of which were pure class.
And he would double his tally in the 20th minute. After receiving a well-placed ball out wide from Giovanni Ferraina that sliced perfectly between Chattanooga’s midfield and defense, Zeltzer-Zubida took it on himself, cutting inside and whacking a shot past CFC’s Milo Garvanian and Farid Sar-Sar with his right foot to double Inter Miami’s lead.
Chattanooga looked rusty. Poor passes were made and the tireless Peter Plougmand up-front, who was getting a physical test from the Miami defense all night, was often left stranded and without sufficient support. CFC’s wingers, Jesus Ibarra and Daniel Mangarov, so often the source of creativity struggled to make an impression in the first half. Garvanian was also not having his best game for Chattanooga, however he did draw the foul that led to his side’s first goal.
Taking a Mangarov ball right inside the box, he was fouled by Ferraina and referee Gary Gutierrez pointed to the spot. The penalty initially looked soft, but replays show that Ferraina did clumsily make full contact with Garvanian without attempting to get the ball. Garvanian also had to shake off a resultant injury after the challenge. Up stepped Tate Robertson, already with 2 goals and 5 assists this season, who put a neat penalty past Marin to make it 2-1.
Chattanooga’s joy was short lived, however, as only six minutes later Miami’s Mateo Saja restored the two-goal cushion with a moment of brilliance. Bailey Sparks delivered a precise low cross into the box, and Saja met it with a stunning backheel finish to make it 3-1 and cap off a dominant first-half display for the visitors.
Nugent made two changes at half time, bringing in Mike Bleeker and Keegan Ancelin, and CFC came out to play. Momentum really swung their way as Robertson, involved in almost everything and committed to numerous, physical one-on-one challenges for the ball battled for his side and menaced Ferraina and Daniel Sumalla. It was he that created Chattanooga’s second goal.
On 54 minutes, Mangarov, who had started to come into the game, dinked a high pass to Robertson who duly returned the ball to him. Miami’s Tyler Hall criminally allowed the ball to bounce in the box and Marin committed himself too early, allowing Mangarov to flick the ball into an empty net with the outside of his left foot. Another superb goal, albeit another poor defensive error. It was Robertson’s sixth (league leading) assist and Mangarov’s fifth goal of the season.
On 74 minutes, Nugent threw Jalen James into the fray as CFC went in search of an equalizer. James only needed six minutes to rescue his team. Steeve Louis-Jean found Plougmand, still battling at the tip of the Chattanooga attack, who fed the ball through to James who took it well, advanced on Marin, and slid the ball past him. It was a wonderful moment for the 24-year-old, who had been out of action for almost five months before his recent return. The Chattahooligans will have been delighted to see him return to the score-sheet.
The last ten minutes were frantic as both teams looked for a late win but ultimately penalties would decide affairs. After Miami’s first effort from Ricardo Montenegro was saved by Jakupović, CFC netted all their kicks allowing for captain Farid Sar-Sar to score the deciding penalty. An excellent come-back from Chattanooga who showed true grit and belief to rescue 2 points and a sterling first half performance from Miami who’ve proved they’re better than their league standing suggests.
Match takeaways
This was not only a valuable point for a Miami team that has struggled away from home this season but will also be an important morale boost for the side. Yes, they let a 3-1 lead slip, but to go to Chattanooga, the league’s most difficult away assignment, and play as they did will give Cristian Ledesma huge hope that similar performances and better results await them on the road.
Chattanooga signed a lot of new players this season, and across the team (Jakupović, Koehler, Mangarov, Ancelin, Plougmand) it’s the new players who have had the most influence and impact. But Roberston is the really eye-catching one. Returned to Chattanooga after two years in Lexington, he’s been excellent and appears to keep improving with each passing matchweek. Tonight, he grabbed his third goal and sixth assist. No other player is more important to this team right now.
A word on Peter Plougmand tonight. He didn’t find the scoresheet but did provide an assist for Jalen James’ equalizer. But it was the Dane’s general play that was impressive. For 88 minutes he had the thankless job of holding up the CFC attack and was subjected to physical, and at times dirty, play from his defensive counterparts. He’s a big, strong lad who can take care of himself for sure, but his ability to keep fighting, keep battling, keep defenders busy really opens up opportunities for his side to attack from elsewhere. He looked wrecked by the time he came off and deserves huge credit for another battling performance.
Box Score
Chattanooga FC - Inter Miami CF II
MLS Next Pro
Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, TN
Attendance: 3,361
Final Score: Chattanooga 3-3 Miami (Chattanooga won the penalty shootout 5-4)
Referee: Gary Gutierrez
Scoring summary:
7’: I. Zeltzer-Zubida (MIA)
20’: I. Zeltzer-Zubida (MIA)
27’: T. Robertson (CHA) pentalty
33’: M. Saja (MIA)
54’: D. Mangarov (CHA)
80’: J. James (CHA)
Shootout summary:
X: R. Montenegro (MIA)
✓: M. Naglestad (CHA)
✓: G. Ferraina (MIA)
✓: T. Robertson (CHA)
✓: D. Sumalla (MIA)
✓: D. Mangarov (CHA)
✓: D. Pinter (MIA)
✓: J. James (CHA)
✓: P. Plambeck (MIA)
✓: F. Sar-Sar (CHA)
Discipline:
68' - B. Sparks (MIA) - yellow
79' - D. Pinter (MIA) - yellow
90' - M. Marin (MIA) - yellow
Man of the Match: Tate Robertson (CHA) - Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida obviously deserves mention too for his brace, but it was Robertson who influenced this game more than any other player. A goal, an assist and a battling performance, he hauled his side back into this game.
Line-ups:
Chattanooga FC (3-4-3): Eldin Jakupović; Ethan Dudley (74' Jalen James), Nathan Koehler, Farid Sar-Sar (C); Milo Garvanian (46’ Mike Bleeker), Steeve Louis Jean (90’+3 Markus Naglestad), Nick Mendonca, Tate Robertson; Daniel Mangarov, Jesus Ibarra (46’ Keegan Ancelin 46'); Peter Plougmand (88’ Kwak Min-Jae)
Subs not used: Michael Barrueta, Logan Brown, Robert Screen, Colin Thomas
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
Inter Miami CF II (4-4-2): Matias Marin; Giovanni Ferraina, Daniel Sumalla, Tyler Hall, Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida; Cesar Abadia, Ricardo Montenegro, Bailey Sparks (86’ Santiago Ledesma), Alejandro Flores (71’ Preston Plambeck); Daniel Pinter, Mateo Saja (85’ Bryan Destin)
Subs not used: Ivan Schmid, Lesther Garcia, Derrek Martinez, Samuel Basabe, Theo Vorenkamp, Yuval Cohen
Head Coach: Cristian Ledesma
Next Games
• June 15th, 19:00 (ET): New York Red Bulls II v Chattanooga FC, MSU Soccer Park, Little Falls Township, NJ (MLS Next Pro)
• June 12th, 19:00 (ET): Toronto FC II v Inter Miami CF II, York Lions Stadium, North York, ON (MLS Next Pro)