The Red Wolves picked up three points on the road Saturday night against One Knoxville SC in a 3-2 comeback victory with goals from Ryley Kraft and Chevone Marsh’s second consecutive multi-goal outing. This match concluded the Smoky Mountain Smackdown derby between the two Tennessee clubs with Chattanooga taking the series after winning the first meeting on April 8th at home in addition to the road win.
One Knoxville opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a goal from Jimmie Villalobos as the Red Wolves looked to break through the middle for opportunities of their own. After allowing the initial tally, the Red Wolves defense and goalkeeper Ricardo Jérez worked to limit One Knoxville’s attempts as the home side collected nine shots before halftime.
The second half began with more offense from the Red Wolves and their efforts were rewarded in the 60th minute; Ryley Kraft notched his first goal of the year with a free kick blast to tie the match. Knoxville did not wait long to respond and reclaimed the lead just six minutes later with a goal from Callum Johnson, their second and ultimately final goal of the match.
Chattanooga organized several offensive presses to find their second equalizer and, in similar fashion to his last outing, Chevone Marsh won a penalty in the 72nd minute and was successful in the ensuing penalty kick to even the score at 2-2. He was not done for the night, however, and found his second of the match in the 80th minute for the go-ahead game winner, assisted by Red Wolves newcomer, Omar Gomez, and marking the seventh Red Wolves goal to occur in the last 15 minutes of a second half.
With substantial time remaining on the clock, Knoxville fervently attempted to avoid the home loss and pressed Jérez and the Red Wolves defense, but could not break through for a tying tally. In an astounding eight minutes of stoppage time, the home side’s press continued, but the Red Wolves pulled out two bursts of offense of their own led by Mayele Malango. One Knoxville was held off without a shot as stoppage time waned, and the final whistle would cement the 3-2 victory for the Red Wolves.
Chattanooga will now head into a match back at CHI Memorial Stadium with a three game scoring streak as they face North Carolina FC on Saturday, July 29th, featuring a pre-game concert and drink specials at the Howl Bar. The Red Wolves’ next road test will be on August 5th against Forward Madison FC.