Chattanooga lose again
Second home loss stretches 8 game winless streak
Chattanooga FC are now eight games without a win. Last night they fell 3-1 at home to a Crown Legacy side that were six places and ten points behind them at kick-off. The loss sees CFC fall to fourth in the MLS Eastern Conference and rings alarm bells over a season that is starting to eerily mirror their 2024 campaign.
It was Crown Legacy who took the lead in the 29th minute through an excellent goal from Nigerian youth international Emmanuel Uchegbu. After receiving a pass at the edge of the box from Yves Tcheuyap, he took CFC’s Milo Garvanian on one-on-one, cutting across his left and curling a shot over the head of Nathan Koehler and into the upper left corner of goal past a diving Eldin Jakupović. Garvanian could and should have done more to close Uchegbu down and prevent him the space and window for getting the shot away, but this takes nothing away from the effort by the 20-year-old goalscorer who took his opportunity perfectly. He even came close to doubling his tally three minutes later through a quick counterattack from a CFC set-piece.
The visitors doubled their lead right before halftime as Uchegbu turned provider for Dylan Sing. It was a bizarre goal born from a mixture of poor CFC decision-making and excellent opportunism on the part of Uchegbu. CFC were firmly in control of the ball, at the feet of Jakupović who passed out to Tate Robertson on the left-side halfway line. Robertson quickly passed back to Daniel Mangarov who fed a pass short to a backtracking Koehler who was unable to get to the ball before Uchegbu. It was remarkable anticipation from Uchegbu to get there first. He took it forward and selflessly passed it to Sing to leave Jakupović stranded and Crown Legacy 2-0 up. I initially thought Sing was offside, but having watched it back he does appear to be behind Uchegbu when the Nigerian played the lovely deft pass for him to run onto. Uchegbu would offer a goal on a plate to Sing again just after half-time, but the 24-year-old hit the woodwork.
Both sides came out fighting in the second half. As well as Sing hitting the woodwork, Erik Peña would scupper a glorious chance for CLFC sending a shot skyward from close range. CFC were also playing some progressive soccer, with Robertson, Jalen James, Garvanian, and Mangarov all linking up in various combinations to create some chances, but it took them too long to brew something effective enough to trouble goalkeeper Isaac Walker.
That would come on 79 minutes when Robertson, on a solo run, smashed a shot from outside the penalty area that traveled low through the defense and dipped into the bottom left corner. It was a fine goal, deserving of a better occasion and a sixth league goal of the campaign for Robertson, CFC’s best player this year by some distance, I think.
After Chattanooga substitute Xavier Rimpel missed a chance to level matters, bobbling a shot wide from a set piece, it was Crown Legacy that got the final word on the night when substitute Andrej Subotić scored on a counterattack. In the waning moments of the contest, and with CFC in advanced positions desperately looking for an equalizer, the young Serbian approached the edge of the box before dribbling past two defenders and faking a shot to shake off Robertson, opening up space to slip a right-footed shot past Jakupović.
A horrible night for Chattanooga FC and the home portion of the 3,069 fans at Finley Stadium. An amazing night for Crown Legacy who move up to eight place.
Match takeaways
There really is just one talking point here; what is wrong with Chattanooga FC?
They looked like the best team in the league between March and May but are now winless in June and July. I do think the 2025 CFC is all-round better than the 2024 CFC who saw a similarly timed slump, but 2024’s CFC had a more consistent goalscoring threat up front in Mehdi Ouamri. This year, it’s hard to find a consistent source of goals.
And goals seem to be the main issue. Last night’s loss saw them concede three. But I loathe to firmly blame Chattanooga’s defenders for them. The first goal, while Garvanian might have done more to prevent it, was just a fine individual effort. The second, a sloppy pass from Mangarov, not a defender. And the third came right at the death, with tired legs, and the team focused firmly on equalizing. Suffice to say, as in other matches recently, CFC’s defense didn’t lose them this game, its blunt attack did.
Crown Legacy had more possession, but not by much (54% to 46%). Chattanooga had more chances (17 to 13), but Crown Legacy was just more precise, hitting more on target (8 to 5) and creating more big chances (3 to 2). Crown Legacy created their own luck through stunning individual brilliance and opportunism. But why can’t CFC create those kinds of chances anymore?
Chris Nugent himself noted the lack of goalscoring as the issue. "We missed too many chances in the second half. The first half was really poor. If the whole game was like the first half, I wouldn't have confidence [that the team can turn things around]. What gives me confidence in this group is that, after having a disappointing and poor end to the first half, we turned it around and went on to control and dominate the game. We didn't turn that into enough chances. The willingness and determination to impact the game I see from the players is what gives me confidence. This is football and these things happen, and it's frustrating. We have a good team. I have faith in my players. We saw what they did in the second half and now it's about cleaning up those small details, especially when it comes to finishing chances."
I think a more lengthy discussion and analysis of CFC’s problems would be better suited by a dedicated article later than this post-match report can offer, but the team needs goalscoring chances and it needs a goalscorer.
Box Score
Chattanooga FC - Crown Legacy FC
MLS Next Pro
Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, TN
Attendance: 3,069
Final Score: Chattanooga 1-3 Crown Legacy
Referee: Adam Rice
Scoring summary:
29’: Emmanuel Uchegbu (CLFC)
45’+4’: Dylan Sing (CLFC)
79’: Tate Robertson (CFC)
90’+9: Andrej Subotic (CLFC)
Discipline:
19’: Simon Tonidandel (CLFC) - yellow card
45’+2’: Gary Dicker (CLFC) - yellow card
50’: Keegan Ancelin (CFC) - yellow card
68’: Baye Coulibaly (CLFC) - yellow card
90’: Gavin Turner (CFC) - yellow card
90’+5’: Yves Tcheuyap (CLFC) - yellow card
90’+7’: Tate Robertson (CFC) - yellow card
Man of the Match: Emmanuel Uchegbu (CLFC) - There really can be no doubt. The young Nigerian had one goal and one assist. Both were wonderful individual efforts and he could easily have had more. A player to watch in future.
Line-ups:
Chattanooga FC (4-3-3): Eldin Jakupović; Ethan Dudley (Keegan Ancelin 46’), Nathan Koehler, Farid Sar-Sar (C); Milo Garvanian, Callum Watson (Ameziane Sid Mohand 81’), Gavin Turner, Tate Robertson; Colin Thomas (Xavier Rimpel 66’), Daniel Mangarov, Jalen James (Markus Naglestad 66’)
Substitutes not used: Michael Barrueta, Robert Screen, Nick Mendonca, Darwin Ortiz, Minjae Kwak
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
Crown Legacy FC (4-4-2): Isaac Walker; Jahlane Forbes, Jack Neeley (C), Assane Ouedraogo (Jamie Smith 75’), Yves Tcheuyap; Baye Coulibaly, Simon Tonidandel (Erik Peña 62’), Brian Romero (Daniel Moore 62’), Emmanuel Uchegbu (Magic Smalls 87’); Adrian Mendoza (Andrej Subotić 74’), Dylan Sing
Substitutes not used: Nicholas Holliday, Mikah Thomas, Thiago Rodrigues, Leo Bartolovic
Head Coach: Gary Dicker
Next Games
• August 2nd, 19:00 (ET): Chattanooga FC v Toronto FC II, Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN (MLS Next Pro)
• August 2nd, 17:00 (ET): Crown Legacy FC v Huntsville City, Mecklenburg County Sportsplex, Matthews, NC (MLS Next Pro)