| USL LEAGUE ONE MATCHDAY 17 | 1ST HALF | 2ND HALF | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONE KNOXVILLE SC (10-4-3 | 33 PTS) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC (9-5-1 | 28 PTS) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
EAST RIDGE, Tenn. – The chances were there for One Knoxville SC for much of the evening. The goals, however, unfortunately were not and because of that, the club must turn the page after suffering a USL League One loss away from home for the first time this season. A second half goal against the run of play was enough in the end for Chattanooga Red Wolves SC as One Knox succumbed to a 1-0 defeat on Saturday night.
“Really disappointing,” said Head Coach Ian Fuller. “We huffed and puffed, but couldn’t find the goal that we were looking for.”
One Knox departs CHI Memorial Stadium still on 33 points in the league standings. The defeat halts the club’s USL1 road unbeaten streak at seven matches.
It was a particularly bitter pill to swallow too for the squad after it could not find the back of the net despite creating a multitude of dangerous offensive opportunities. Knoxville finished the match with a 20-6 advantage, with 12 of those shots coming inside of the box and six on target.
The squad also held 68% of possession with 79 final third entries, to just 50 from Chattanooga.
But it was a header from Red Wolves defender Josh Ramos off a corner in the 74th minute that ended up being the only goal of the evening.
“We left ourselves open and gave chances away,” Fuller explained. “Which you can’t do, especially on set pieces against a team that is really dangerous in those spots.”
After serving a one-match red card suspension, forward Denis Krioutchenkov returned to the lineup and narrowly missed on adding to his team-lead in goals. He found himself in on goal in the 21st minute, following a turnover at midfield and a pass into the box from Babacar Diene, but the shot inside the box went over the crossbar.
Krioutchenkov was back in front of goal with the ball seven minutes later courtesy of Diene once again, who made a run down the right side of the box before cutting the ball back. Krioutchenkov’s one time seemed destined for the back of the net, but was deflected away on a desperation slide from Red Wolves defender Tobi Adewole.
Diene had an effort of his own in the 33rd minute as One Knox’s high press forced an errant pass at the top of the box. The Senegalese forward took a couple of touches before ripping a right-footed effort that beat the dive of Red Wolves goalkeeper Jason Smith, but not the post as it bounced back into play before the ball was cleared to safety.
> MATCH DETAILS
LINEUPS
KNX: Garibay – GK, Perkins (Tiao 45′), Fernandez (Linhares 82′), Skelton – C, McRobb, Brown, Caputo, Baker (Gill 82′), Murphy Jr. (Gøling 73′), Krioutchenkov, Diene (Conway 73′)
CHA: Smith – GK, Ayimbila (Yanis Lelin 65′), Kinzner, Adewole, Ramos (Apolinar 85′), P. Hernandez – C, Wessels (Gomez-Tapia 65′), Kelly, Bentley, O. Hernandez (Donoho 85′), Lombardi (Mercer 65′)
GOALS
KNX:
CHA: Ramos 74′
DISCIPLINE
KNX: Perkins (Yellow) 19′; Diene (Yellow) 32′
CHA: Ayimbila (Yellow) 36′; Kinzner (Yellow) 52′
NEXT UP
Having suffered a pair of recent setbacks, One Knox will look to rebound next weekend as it stays on the road to face the Charlotte Independence in a match of two teams tied on 33 points. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte on August 1. Knoxville returns to Covenant Health Park the following weekend, August 8, against the Sarasota Paradise (tickets).
