The Chattanooga Red Wolves return to play this Wednesday at 7:00 PM EST against the New England Revolution II on the road at Gillette Stadium. The Chattanooga Red Wolves are back on the rise after a dominant 4-0 win at CHI Memorial Stadium against the Revs in late August, and are most recently coming off of a 1-1 draw in an away mid-table matchup against Fort Lauderdale CF. The Red Wolves (2-2-3) sit at #5 in the league while the New England Revolution II (1-4-2) are last in the league ranked #11. New England’s sole win came against the league leaders, Greenville Triumph, handing them their first loss of the season back in August. More recently, the Revolution lost their last game against Forward Madison 4-0. The Revolution has 5 points so far this season, while the Red Wolves go into the match with 9. The Red Wolves will need to pick up a win Wednesday to help narrow the gap between them and the teams ahead of them. The Red Wolves didn’t get the result they were looking for this past weekend, but they are determined to not let any points escape them Wednesday. Here are this week’s three points for victory.
The Red Wolves proved during their first meeting against the Revolution that they have the talent and ability to break them down and create chances. They also did an excellent job of putting them away early in the game and not taking their foot off of the gas. Coach Obleda and his squad will likely look to mimic this again on Wednesday. There is no doubt about it, the chances will come. The speed, talent, and strength from the forwards accompanied by a clever midfield that sees the game and a solid backline that the Red Wolves possess will be a lot to handle for the Revolution. The Red Wolves have done an excellent job as of recently in regards to creating solid chances in the run of play, and it is important that they take advantage of them this week. With the Red Wolves offense opening up and new players getting themselves on the goal sheets such as Marky Hernandez, Ualefi, Zacarias, Steven Beattie, and of course Greg Hurst, the Red Wolves are showing everyone that they have multiple threats to be reckoned with going forward. With uncertainties regarding injuries, Ronaldo Pineda and others will be looking to take advantage of any opportunities that come their way as well. Pineda started on the wing in place of Marky Hernandez this past weekend due to injury, and picked up a vital assist to secure the draw. Early this season opposing managers thought that shutting down Greg Hurst would shut down the entire Red Wolves offense, but the other attackers are starting to step up and add their skills to the Red Wolves attacking arsenal. The Red Wolves have a lot of offensive depth, and will be looking to throw all of it at the Revolution and make another statement this week.
Another major key to success this weekend is winning the mental battle. New England Revolution II is ranked last in the league and have conceded 8 goals in their last two matches. The Red Wolves have to use this to their advantage and come out hard. The Red Wolves need to forget the 4-0 result from the last time out against them at CHI Memorial Stadium and focus on scoring as many goals as they can, picking up a crucial win, and gaining momentum to come back home for another match on Saturday.
The third point is that the Red Wolves need to battle defensively for a shutout. The Red Wolves have kept two clean sheets so far this season, and will be looking to add to that number on Wednesday. The Red Wolves are a much better side than their win record shows, and every game played so far has had victory within reach. Of their three ties and two losses, both losses have been by only one goal. The Red Wolves have been able to score goals in 6 out of the 7 games they have played this season, and they will look to continue this trend. The team will need to plateau their intensity to avoid any lapses that could potentially lead to the opposition scoring goals. The Red Wolves understand the importance of every game, and they realize that it is beginning to be crunch time to perform and get results in order to fight for a postseason spot.
The Red Wolves are set to kickoff at 7:00 PM EST against the New England Revolution II for the second time of the 2020 USL League One season this Wednesday. Make sure to not miss out on the action and catch the game live on ESPN+.
