WHAT TO WATCH FOR AND WHAT TO EXPECT
Greenville Triumph SC hosts the Red Wolves this week for the second match in five days in the second of the three match series between the clubs. The first matchup, also played at Paladin Stadium, saw Greenville take a 5-1 victory over the Red Wolves on Wednesday, June 21st, featuring a four goal appearance from Lyam MacKinnon. Chattanooga will next face Greenville for the final home match of the season on Saturday, October 7th.
The Red Wolves enter the match after taking on a fierce Union Omaha on Saturday, August 19th. The Owls snagged an early goal in the tenth minute to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. Chattanooga created a number of chances of their own, but were unable to find the back of the net before the midway point. Omaha got their second tally of the contest in the 65th minute off of an own goal from Aarón Lombardi in his attempts to clear the ball right in front of Carlos Avilez. Chevone Marsh, having entered the match in the 63rd minute, tried to reignite the Red Wolves’ offense and nearly scored in the 73rd minute but was denied by the crossbar. He later collected his team-leading ninth goal of the season in stoppage time after scoring on a penalty kick in the 90+8th minute to cut the lead to one goal. The Red Wolves clamored in the waning moments of the match for the equalizer but were left with the 2-1 final result.
Greenville comes off of a nil-nil draw against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on August 19th. After a lengthy weather delay, the two clubs battled for the first goal of the match, but Greenville’s Coutinho was denied by the post while goalkeeper Jamie Smith made a diving save to keep the Hailstorm off the board. Greenville had an opportunity for the game winner in the 65th minute, but the goal was disallowed due the play being ruled offside. The match would end in a 0-0 stalemate with each club collecting a point.
Chattanooga will quickly refocus from Wednesday’s match to their next opponent, South Georgia Tormenta FC on Saturday, August 26th. They will also play at home again on Saturday, September 2nd against Forward Madison FC.
MARSH TIED FOR FOURTH IN GOLDEN BOOT RACE WITH GOAL AGAINST OMAHA
Continuing his hot streak in recent weeks, Red Wolves midfielder Chevone Marsh recently jumped to a five-way tie for fourth place in the USL League One Golden Boot race after collecting his ninth goal of the season against Union Omaha.
The Jamaican native has been nominated to the USL League One’s Team of the Week three times since June 13th and currently leads the Red Wolves in goal scoring, followed by Ropapa Mensah with six.
ENRIQUEZ BACK ON INJURED LIST, TEJERA AND ESPINOZA AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION
Christian Enriquez remains the only player unavailable for selection this week as Alex Tejera and Moe Espinoza have been reactivated from the injured list. While neither played in Saturday’s match against Union Omaha, they could see minutes against Greenville as they work toward full, healthy status for the first time since May and July, respectively.