Scenic City derby awaits after Naglestad sends Chattanooga FC through
Chattanooga will face off against the Red Wolves for the first time in history in Round 2
It’s one of the biggest rivalries in American soccer, and yet the teams who comprise it have never played one another. Chattanooga’s local front in the Soccer Warz will get the game fans have dreamed of for years. And its all due to a winning header by Markus Naglestad.
It came late, very late. Deep into the second half of extra time, and held 0-0 by a frustratingly organized visitor, Chattanooga FC drove forward. In the 112th minute of extra time, substitute Robert Screen brought the ball forward and found left-back Milo Garvanian out wide. With his first touch, the 25-year-old crossed the ball pinpointedly to the center of the Corpus Christi box and straight onto the flying head of Markus Naglestad. On the night of his 99th appearance for CFC, the Norwegian powered home the winner, igniting an eruption among the two-thousand or so fans who’d waited nearly two hours for this goal.
For Naglestad himself, the goal meant a lot personally. “Its been a while since I scored at Finley. Its a special feeling, its one I’ve been longing for and its indescribable really”.
It was a win that Chattanooga had to work very hard to get, but one that they probably deserved on the balance of things. While their visitors, USL League Two’s Corpus Christi FC played very well and can be proud of their performance, Chattanooga were slightly better on the night.
Chattanooga Head Coach Chris Nugent elected to name a surprisingly stronger starting XI than anticipated. Steeve Louis Jean and Logan Brown were the only changes from Saturday’s league victory over Huntsville City. Perhaps this was a sign of how seriously CFC are taking the Cup this year and their respect for their talented visitors. “They’re an amateur team, but they’re not a pub team”, said Nugent. “I’ve played with USL 2 teams, I’ve worked with USL 2 teams, so I knew we had to take it seriously. Every week we put out a squad that will win just based on the players we have available. We’re fortunate enough that we have the weekend off and a little break between games.”
Visiting coach Manuel Iwabuchi fielded a youthful squad, with an average age of 22.5. While almost all were current or recently graduated college players, some from nearby Dalton State, he had two players with pro experience to call upon in Emerson Nieto (Indy Eleven) and Gabriel Rodriguez (South Georgia Tormenta). Cuba Grant, Andres Herrera, and Arthur Medina were all returnees from their USL League Two Lone Star winning 2024 season.
Chattanooga started brightly, with Callum Watson whacking a shot that was parried by Grant in the fourth minute. An evenly matched first half saw the home side have more possession and looking more in control of the game for large periods. Corpus Christi sat back for the first 20 minutes and allowed Chattanooga the ball. In the CFC goal, Eldin Jakupović barely touched the ball inside the opening 20 minutes. Later in the half Corpus Christi began to play outside their half and even fired off a couple of shots that Jakupović had to save.
It was a largely uneventful game in which Chattanooga had seemed to run clear of ideas in the final third, although Alex McGrath, Milo Garvanian, and Tate Robertson were pushing hard. For a team stacked full of new players, Corpus Christie looked impressively compact and organized. “They’re a good team. They’re kind of gritty”, said Naglestad. After Chattanooga’s initial onslaught in the opening quarter of an hour, they never looked cowed or intimidated by their professional opponents.
As the game wore on though, their players were starting to look tired, giving away free kicks in crucial areas allowing Chattanooga to go close. The home side kept pushing for more, and attacking substitutions were made with Minjae Kwak, Jesus Ibarra, and Naglestad being brought on. Eventually CFC’s pushing bore fruit in the 112th minute when it was Naglestad who settled the argument.
CFC will now take on their rivals from East Ridge on April 2nd at home in Fort Finley. It’s fair to say the eyes of American soccer for the next while will be firmly focused on the 423. “It’s gonna be the talk of the town for the next two weeks”, mused Naglestad. “We’ve both been around for a few years, we’ve been around for longer. The crazy thing about US soccer is that we’ve never played. We haven’t played in a friendly or in any capacity. We’re really excited to go against them. We’re gonna go out there to win. I’ll back us.”
I asked Chris Nugent what the games against the Red Wolves will mean to him. He commented on the excitement of the fans, owners and players when the fixture was announced. “It’s a huge rivalry that’s been brewing and brewing. We haven’t had the chance to compete on the field yet so its going to be huge. Not just for us as a club for the community and the city aswell. I’m sure their side wants to have this game aswell.”
There’s a lot to discuss, a lot to consider, a lot of debates to finally be settled. But for now, Chattanooga FC can celebrate a hard-fought win.
Match Takeaways
As a Cup campaign will always tell you, upsets are possible and when 11 play 11; level, professionalism, and experience can matter little. From NJ Alliance last night to Virginia Dream this evening, amateur and semi-pro sides are proving time and again they’re not to be underestimated. Corpus Christi approached this game expertly, keeping it tight, soaking up pressure and using the breaks when they came. They were impressive and well prepared.
For Chattanooga, there are no alarm bells. Yes, they struggled to break down a USL League Two visiting side but as Coach Nugent rightly stressed, Cup games are tricky things and often aberrations. CFC are two from two in league play this year, and tonight, despite looking labored for large parts, didn’t do much wrong. Don’t expect to see them struggling against MLS Next Pro sides all of a sudden because of today’s performance.
While I had expected him to start this game, his winning goal tonight emphasized the importance of having an experienced and crafty goalscorer like Markus Naglestad in this squad. While he won’t start every game, he can be called upon to bail his team out of a jam and provides leadership and experience to his youthful teammates. Keeping him was a brilliant decision.
An increasingly important player for CFC is Milo Garvanian. The left-back has now offered two goal contributions in three games and has played every minute of Chattanooga’s competitive soccer this year (300 minutes in 3 games). His cross for Naglestad tonight was perfection, and he did it with one touch. He was constantly looking for breaks and pushing his team. An excellent performance from an emerging talisman.
For 120 long and often trying minutes, the Chattahooligans created a stream of noise, music and vocal support. I can only imagine that for the CFC players, struggling to overcome lower league opposition and feeling under the pressure of expectation, the encouragement from the stands made a huge difference. Not every club in this Open Cup will have such support. It’s support and home game atmosphere continues to be one of Chattanooga Football Club’s finest assets. I cannot wait for the atmosphere when the Red Wolves visit.
Box Score
Chattanooga FC - Corpus Christi FC
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - First Round
Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, TN
Final Score: Chattanooga FC 1-0 Corpus Christi FC
Attendance: 2,075
Scoring summary:
112': M. Naglestad (CHA)
Discipline:
20': D. Larsson - yellow (CC)
32': C. Watson - yellow (CHA)
47’: A. Medina - yellow (CC)
54’: K. Ancelin - yellow (CHA)
68’: G. Rodriguez - yellow (CC)
80’: D. Mangarov - yellow (CHA)
84’: M. Roberts - yellow (CC)
87’: S. Louis Jean - yellow (CHA)
104’: K. Barganski - yellow (CC)
Man of the Match: Milo Garvanian (CHA) - played well throughout in defense and attack, and created the goal that won the game.
Line-ups:
Chattanooga FC: Eldin Jakupović; Tate Robertson (82’ Nathan Koehler), Logan Brown (116’ Ethan Dudley), Farid Sar-Sar, Milo Garvanian; Callum Watson (45’ Minjae Kwak), Nick Mendonca (77’ Jesus Ibarra), Alex McGrath [C], Steeve Louis Jean, Daniel Mangarov (100’ Robert Screen); Keegan Ancelin (77’ Markus Naglestad).
Subs not used: Michael Barrueta.
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
Corpus Christi FC: Cuba Grant [C]; Andres Herrera (90+8’ Mason Dalton), Juan Demichelis (65’ Matthew Roberts), Tiago Dias, Gianluca Fiorini (100’ Kyle Barganski), Daniel Larsson; Sofian Maghouz, Athur Medina (100’ Oliver Pardoe), Emerson Nieto; Giuseppe Santaroce (77’ Jack Thomas), Gabriel Rodriguez.
Subs not used: None
Head Coach: Manuel Iwabuchi
Next Games
• March 30th, 19:30 (ET): Atlanta United 2 v Chattanooga FC, Fifth Third Stadium, Kennesaw, GA (MLS Next Pro)
• May 17th, 19:00 (CT): Corpus Christi FC v Lonestar SC, Cabaniss Soccer Field, Corpus Christi, TX (USL League Two)
Almost want to travel to Chattanooga for the derby!
I cannot wait to watch this game. They don't play friendlies because how could they?