For the third and final time this season, the Chattanooga Red Wolves faced Union Omaha during the 2024 season. Entering the match down chief players in Lucas Coutinho, Stefan Lukic, and Omar Gomez, the Red Wolves looked to compete against the top team in the league with a short bench. After going down to 10 men in the 40th minute, the Red Wolves found an own goal in the 74th for the sole goal of the contest to grab an important three points and a clean sheet in league competition.
The Red Wolves came into the opening minutes of the first half on the front foot and tested the Owls’ Rashid Nuhu early. The sides traded opportunities through the first 15 minutes, but Union Omaha began to pull ahead slightly through the 30th minute. TJ Bush made several key saves, including one on the line following a corner kick in the 15th minute and a second big save in the 38th minute.
As Chattanooga looked to create more offensive chances, Omaha continued their press and, in an attempt to stop an advancing Omaha, Gustavo Ferandes pulled the Owls’ Missael Rodriguez down and was shown a straight red. For the second straight match, the Red Wolves would go down to ten men. Into first half stoppage time, Bush punched away Omaha’s final attempt of the half to keep the contest goalless.
Despite heavy pressure from Omaha, the Red Wolves ended the first half even at nil-nil at the end of the first 45 minutes.
The Owls nearly got an opening goal quickly into the second half as Lagos Kunga, who led the home side’s offensive charge through the contest, found a loose rebound in the 50th minute and put the ball into the bottom left corner; however, the goal was immediately called off for offsides, and the match remained without a goal.
One of the few substitutes available, Mayele Malango entered the match in the 55th minute to relieve Chevone Marsh, who had taken several knocks throughout the game. While Union Omaha had the man advantage, the Red Wolves continued to test Nuhu but worked to lock down defensively. Bush sustained his strong play as Omaha began to lead in possession through the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Pedro Hernandez provided Chattanooga’s best chance in the second half with a hard shot in the 72nd minute that was pushed away by Nuhu. Just two minutes later, Hernandez made another run down the field and, looking to pass across to Ropapa Mensah, found the toe of Omaha’s Mechack Jérôme and the ball was sent into the back of the net for the opening tally.
The Owls, down a goal, increased their efforts to score and applied intense pressure in the Red Wolves’ defensive zone as the clock headed toward the 90 minute mark. Bush made his third save on the goal line in the 85th minute in search of the clean sheet.
With eight minutes of stoppage time awarded, Chattanooga faced a barrage of attempts as Omaha searched for an equalizer but none would come by the final whistle and the Red Wolves would walk away with a crucial three points on the road.
“Today was about bravery and guts, and we’ve missed that at points this season,” said head coach Scott Mackenzie of the win.
The Red Wolves will play against Central Valley Fuego at home on Saturday, August 3rd. The match will feature pre and post match music by local favorite Lilac Line and will celebrate the 125th anniversary of Coca-Cola bottling in Chattanooga. They will face Spokane Velocity just four days later on Wednesday, August 7th for $2 Beer Night. Tickets for both matches are on sale now.