A midweek deluge caused MLS Next Pro officials to postpone a game between Atlanta United 2 and Chattanooga FC, Wednesday, after 71 minutes of play. A visibly waterlogged field was deemed unplayable by referee Abdou Ndiaye after heavy rain had battered the region for the full afternoon and into the evening.
Chattanooga will have been the more disappointed of the two sides with the postponement. They were leading 1-0 thanks to an 11th minute Daniel Mangarov goal and were staring the hallowed fourth spot in the table by night’s end. Mind you, Atlanta was the more dominant side, holding 62% possession on the night and outfiring their visitors in shots (15-7), shots on target (6-1), and big chances (1-0). Could (placeholder) man-of-the-match Eldin Jakupović keep them at bay for another 20 or so minutes? Perhaps the postponement will serve CFC well.
The game’s only goal came when Atlanta’s Dominik Chong Qui lost the ball to CFC’s Gavin Turner who quickly fed it to Yuval Cohen in the middle of the park. The ball made its way to Colin Thomas, via Callum Watson, on the left wing. Thomas drove a pass into the box that was found by Daniel Mangarov who controlled it before delivering a very well-placed shot that left Atlanta goalkeeper Jonathan Ransom looking dumbfounded. It was the 23-year-old’s ninth goal of the season.
The game then settled into a general pattern of Atlanta dominance, but CFC were holding on. Liberian duo Patrick Weah and Gabriel Wesse, as well as Coooper Sanchez all had efforts blocked and saved in the first half. Chattanooga lost Thomas early to an injury after he collided with Salvatore Mazzaferro. He was replaced by Keegan Ancelin after about 20 minutes.
The second half proceeded much the same before the game was halted at 70 minutes and 40 seconds. That was just after 9pm. It wasn’t until 11:30pm that it was announced the game had officially been postponed. MLS Next Pro have announced that the game will be resumed at a later date but have yet to release more information.
Box Score*
*to be completed at a later date
Atlanta United 2 v Chattanooga FC
MLS Next Pro
Venue: Fifth Third Stadium | Kennesaw, GA
Final Score: Atlanta 0-1 Chattanooga (Game postponed after 71 minutes)
Referee: Abdou Ndiaye
Scoring summary:
11’: D. Mangarov (CFC)
Discipline:
29’: K. Ancelin (CFC) - dissent, yellow card
39’: T. Robertson (CFC) - foul, yellow card
45’: D. Mangarov (CFC) - foul, yellow card
45+2’: M. Garvanian (CFC) - dissent, yellow card
45+5’: C. Sanchez (ATL) - foul, yellow card
Man of the Match: Eldin Jakupović (CFC) - for now. To be confirmed when the match is finalized.
Line-ups:
Atlanta United 2 (3-4-3): Jonathan Ransom; Salvatore Mazzaferro, Toto Majub, Ronan Wynne; Dominik Chong-Qui (Moises Tablante 64’), David Sibrian (Adyn Torres 64’), Cooper Sanchez (Javier Armas 45’), Ryan Carmichael; Santiago Pita (Rodrigo Neri 68’), Gabriel Wesseh, Patrick Weah
Substitutes not used: Ashton Gordon, James Donaldson, Arif Kovač, Ilan Ettinger, Ignacio Suarez
Head Coach: Jose Silva Caparros
Chattanooga FC (4-3-3): Eldin Jakupović; Milo Garvanian (Steeve Louis Jean 70’), Farid Sar-Sar (C), (Logan Brown, Tate Robertson; Luke Husakiwsky (Nathan Koehler 70’), Gavin Turner, Callum Watson (Nick Mendonca 45’); Daniel Mangarov, Colin Thomas (Keegan Ancelin 19’), Yuval Cohen (Darwin Ortiz 57’)
Substitutes not used: Michael Barrueta, Ethan Dudley, Xavier Rimpel, Anthony García
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
Next Games
• September 28th, 14:00 (ET): Chicago Fire FC II v Atlanta United 2, SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, IL (MLS Next Pro)
• September 28th, 19:30 (ET): New York City FC II v Chattanooga FC, Icahn Stadium, New York, NY (MLS Next Pro)