Preview: Chattanooga FC at Huntsville City FC

August 9, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Chattanooga FC News Release

Chattanooga Football Club midfielder Andrés Jiménez Aranzazu
(Chattanooga FC)

Chattanooga FC looks to remain unbeaten against Southeast Division rivals Huntsville City FC when it travels to Wicks Family Field on Saturday evening.

Chattanooga Football Club has taken five of a possible six points off Huntsville City FC in the club’s inaugural season in MLS NEXT Pro.

Memorably, the two teams met on opening day on March 16th when CFC won the shootout for the extra point after a thrilling 2-2 draw at Finley Stadium.

In the second encounter of the 2024 season, on April 20th, CFC took all three points back to Chattanooga in what was the club’s first-ever away victory in the league.

CFC has taken five points from its last two home matches Finley before this latest test in Huntsville, most recently winning a shootout against Toronto FC II. Huntsville City is coming off a draw and shootout loss at Crown Legacy FC.

Coach’s Corner

Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood previewed the third and final meeting of the regular season with Huntsville.

“Their record does not indicate the talent that they have,” said Underwood. “If you look at some of the data, it points to that, too. Things just haven’t gone their way. It will be a tough match. There’s not much we can take from those first two matches. It’s been awhile since our last game against them. They’ve made a lot of adjustments. They have a new coach coming and this will be his first game, so you would imagine they will be energetic and excited. I’m sure he will probably have tried to put in a few wrinkles in that we won’t know about. But we have an idea of what they’ve done in the past and how they want to try to play, so we’re just trying to prepare the best that we can.”

Know the Opponent

Huntsville City announced its new head coach at the beginning of the week. Former Inter Miami CF U-17 Coach Chris O’Neal was appointed as the second-ever head coach in the club’s history and will be in the dugout for the first time for Rocket City on Saturday night.

Forster Ajago leads Huntsville in goals scored this season (6), while captain Jonathan Bolanos has recorded the most assists for the team (5). Bolanos also leads the team in shots on target (16), key passes (43) and minutes played (1,669).

Away Support

The match in Huntsville represents one of the best opportunities of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season for CFC fans to travel and support the team on the…