Red Wolves finally triumph after Greenville test
Zahir Vazquez pounces on error to give his side the win
The Chattanooga Red Wolves grabbed their first win of the season, Saturday night, seeing off the challenge of Greenville Triumph in a 1-0 win thanks to a lucky break.
The Red Wolves started the better of the two sides, with Josh Ramos kissing the post with a long, drilled shot from outside the box on three minutes and Zahir Vazquez testing Gunther Rankenburg on 21 minutes. Eric Kinzner had his own effort on goal, heading a cross from Jordan Ayimilla straight at Rankenburg.
Greenville was giving the Red Wolves too much space in the attacking third, and the home team pounded the visiting net with chances. Omar Hernández, so wicked with set pieces, forced a save from Rankenburg with a free kick just before half-time.
The visitors did start to make inroads in the second half but failed to register a single shot on target in the whole game, despite dominating possession. Their best chance came on 51 minutes, when Sebastián Velásquez went close with his own whipped in free kick effort.
The Red Wolves took the lead two minutes later, a reward for their dominance in attack, if not in overall possession. Greenville defender Zane Bubb’s attempted long pass deflected off the back of teammate Carlos Anguiano. Chattanooga’s Vazquez was on hand to pounce on the loose ball and slot home the only goal of the night. An opportunist goal for sure, but the 25-year-old from Ogden, Utah showed a poacher’s reaction to take advantage of the moment, and his finish was excellent, leaving no chance for Rankenburg.
Greenville saw out the game with several unconvincing set piece attempts and long-range efforts that didn’t trouble Jason Smith in the Red Wolves goal. Smith only had to make two saves all night.
An important night for the Red Wolves as they get their first win of the season. They next head to Birmingham to take on the Legion of the USL Championship in the Jägermeister Cup, the third competition they’ll play in this month. For Greenville Triumph, they dropped their first away match of the league season and face a tricky visit to South Georgia Tormenta in the same Cup.
Match Takeaways
The signing of Zahir Vazquez appears to have been very good business by the Red Wolves. He showed great reaction last night by pouncing on the Greenville error and took his goal well. A former product of the Red Wolves’ system (having played for their League 2 affiliate in Utah) he’s not only adding depth but much needed reliability and goal contributions to the team’s attack.
While we’ve often noted the depth of the Red Wolves’ roster and quired the ability of its players to continue to play so many games week-in-week-out, the team continues to look strong and fit. How long this will last, is uncertain. The emergence of Vazquez as a force up front is important as the team cannot become too reliant on Matt Bentley and need goals from multiple sources.
Greenville Head Coach Rick Wright will have been hugely disappointed with his side’s performance in the final third of the field last night. While the Triumph dominated possession throughout the game, it never looked like scoring and registered fewer shots and shots on goal. And while the goal conceded was a case of bad luck, its defense gave the Red Wolves far too much respect and space to operate and whip away those shots.
Box Score
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC - Greenville Triumph SC
USL League One
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium | East Ridge, TN
Final Score: Chattanooga Red Wolves 1-0 Greenville Triumph
Attendance: 2,109
Referee: Rodrigo Albuquerque
Scoring summary:
53': Z. Vazquez (CRW)
Discipline:
2': C. Anguiano (GNV) - foul yellow card
90+6': C. Marsh (GNV) - foul yellow card
Man of the Match: Zahir Vazquez (CRW) - showed great reactivity and composure to get his goal, pouncing on an error when other players were staring at the sky and his finish was excellent. Could well become a fan favorite soon in East Ridge.
Line-ups:
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (3-4-3): Jason Smith; Erci Kinzner, Declan Watters, Owen Green; Jordan Ayimbilla, Michael Knapp, Ualefi (C) (73’ Omar Gómez), Josh Ramos (90+2’ Kimball Jackson); Zahir Vazquez (68’ Alhassan Alhassan), Matt Bentley, Omar Hernández (68’ Pedro Hernández)
Subs not used: Ricardo Jérez, Tobi Jnohope, Gharett Morris, Wynand Wessels
Head Coach: Scott Mackenzie
Greenville Triump SC (4-2-3-1): Gunther Rankenburg; Tyler Polak (8’ Michael Gonzalez), Brandon Fricke (C), Zane Bubb 56’ Ivan Agyaakwah), Connor Evans; Carlos Anguiano (72’ Leo Castro), Evan Lee; Ben Zakowski (45’ DJ Benton), Sebastián Velásquez, Rodrigo Robles (72’ Chevone Marsh)
Subs not used: Seth Torman, Anthony Patti
Head Coach: Rick Wright
Next Games
• April 27th, 17:00 (ET): Birmingham Legion FC v Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL (USL Jägermeister Cup)
• April 26th, 19:30 (ET): South Georgia Tormenta FC v Greenville Triumph SC, Tormenta Stadium, Statesboro, GA (USL Jägermeister Cup)