Red Wolves and Alta share spoils
0-0 between sides on Saturday evening
The Chattanooga Red Wolves and AV Alta played out an entertaining but ultimately goalless 0-0 in East Ridge on Saturday evening.
A perfect 84° greeted both sides at kick-off in what was a glorious evening in eastern Tennessee. With second-place Spokane Velocity, who have a game-in-hand, losing earlier in the day in Knoxville, Chattanooga had a gilt-edged opportunity to cement their place at the top and put the daylight of a five-point lead between them.
Head Coach Scott Mackenzie was without the services of standout center-back Declan Watters, who pulled out with an injury before the squad announcement. Michael Knapp, Jonny Filipe, and Gharett Morris remain on the injury list.
At the other end, Alta gaffer Brian Kleiban, had a largely unchanged compliment available, but did lose Salvadoran international Walmer Martínez to injury after only 27 minutes of play.
The first 45 minutes saw very much anticipated possession stats, with Alta dominating the ball (63%) and the Red Wolves allowing them possession and soaking up pressure to hit on the break. As expected, Chattanooga outgunned Antelope Valley despite this disparity, firing off nine shots to Alta’s one in the half. Omar Gómez, Jordan Ayimbila, Tobi Jnohope, Matt Bentley, Omar Hernández and Aaron Lombardi all had chances.
At the other end, Jerry Desdunes’ right footed shot from outside the box was saved in the center of the goal by Jason Smith. This was their only attempt in the first half and Smith had little to do.
The second 45 was a much more evenly matched affair. Which team made the conscious decision to either give up possession (Alta) or try to make more of it (Chattanooga) was unclear, but we now saw ball-playing stats largely even out (44%-56%). The Red Wolves fired off five shots (through Bentley, Omar and Pedro Hernández, and Greyson Mercer) while Alta took four of their own (Emmanuel Alaribe, Javier Mariona, and Eduardo Blancas).
In what was a workmanlike performance for both sides, standout performances were few and far between. An exception was Alta’s young left-back Steven Ramos who performed a stellar defensive effort, more on that below. Referee Mario Maric was busy, dishing out eight cards, including one to the bench. Alta is a physical side, as emphasized by Maboumou Alassane (now) boasting a league-leading 10 yellow cards this year, while captain Miguel Pajaro has nine and Blancas has eight. This physicality clearly rattled a Red Wolves side that, while physical, is more disciplined, but picked up three cards of its own.
In the end it would end all square. It was a terrific result for Alta, who are better than their table position and late summer form suggest. They remain in sixth, only a point of Charlotte Independence immediately ahead of them. Portland Hearts of Pine in seventh have three games-in-hand, however. For Chattanooga, this was a lost opportunity to widen that gap to Spokane in second after the latter’s loss in Knoxville. They’re now three points off the Velocity, who have a game-in-hand. Up next is a very winnable bout with Charlotte next Saturday.
Match takeaways
What a game it was for Alta defender Steven Ramos. The 19-year-old from Northridge, California only joined the AV Alta Academy in the Fall of last year and was promoted to the first team earlier this year. Last night he put in a dominant defensive performance. He made the most defensive contributions (13), clearances (7), headed clearances (6), dribbling advances (2), and blocks (1), won the most duels (10) and won 100% of his tackles. He was the key reason why Chattanooga’s classy winger Omar Hernández was kept at bay. One to watch.
Alta went through a difficult July and August, losing some well-earned ground from May and June. Last night, away at the league’s best and most disciplined side, they showed they’re much better than their position suggests. While Portland behind them have games-in-hand, Alta nevertheless goes into a three-game home stand now, two of which (Tormenta and Madison) are very winnable. They should be in playoff contention come season end.
The Red Wolves are now unbeaten since June 28 (at Tulsa in the Jägermeister Cup). Their last league loss was a week earlier at Greenville. Since that latter result, they are now 10 games unbeaten, an absolutely brilliant run and one that nobody would have expected in pre-season, when their razor thin roster rang alarm bells in some quarters. Mackenzie has managed his resources perfectly, added new ones when required, and has this team playing with such discipline and like a perfectly oiled machine. They’ll be disappointed not to win last night but are my favorites for top-of-the-table come season-end.
Box Score
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC - AV Alta FC
USL League One
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium | East Ridge, TN
Attendance: 2,000
Final Score: Chattanooga 0-0 Antelope Valley
Referee: Mario Maric
Discipline:
22’: O. Hernández (CRW) - yellow
45+2’: J. Desdunes (AVA) - yellow
51’: O. Gómez (CRW) - yellow
57’: S. Cruz (AVA) - yellow
75’: M. Alassane (AVA) - yellow
90+1’: S. Ramos (AVA) - yellow
90+6’: E. Alaribe (AVA) - yellow
90+6’: R. Jérez (CRW) - yellow
Man of the Match: Steven Ramos (AVA) - gave a commanding defensive performance, despite his young age, and kept Omar Hernández at bay.
Line-ups:
Chattanooga Red Wolves (5-4-1): Jason Smith; Jordan Ayimbila, Eric Kinzner, Tobi Jnohope (Joshua Ramos 63’), Omar Gómez (Owen Green 87’), Yanis Lelin; Aaron Lombardi (Zahir Vazquez 73’), Ualefi (C), Wynand Wessels, Omar Hernández (Greyson Mercer 73’); Matt Bentley (Pedro Hernández 63’)
Substitutes not used: Ricardo Jérez, Matt Acosta, Alhassan Alhassan
Head Coach: Scott Mackenzie
AV Alta (4-1-4-1): Carlos Avilez; Steven Ramos, Miguel Pajaro (C), Kaloyan Pehlivanov, Christian Ortiz; Maboumou Alassane (Jimmie Villalobos 80’); Jerry Desdunes, Osvaldo Lay, Sebastian Cruz, Walmer Martinez (Emmanuel Alaribe 27’); Javier Mariona (Eduardo Blancas 63’)
Substitutes not used: Denzil Smith, Erick Gonzalez, Ronald Cerritos, Harrison Robledo
Head Coach: Brian Kleiban
Next Games
• September 6th, 19:00 (ET): Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v Charlotte Independence, CHI Memorial Stadium, East Ridge, TN (USL League One)
• September 6th, 22:30 (ET): AV Alta FC v Forward Madison FC, Lancaster Municipal Stadium, Lancaster, CA (USL League One)