Stepping in for one of the National Premier Soccer League's best goalkeepers isn't an easy job. But for the last two matches, Chris Baker has performed very well.
Filling in for Greg Hartley, who's been away this week, Baker made six saves as the Chattanooga Football Club improved to 5-0 with a 3-1 win over the New Orleans Jesters in front of 3,611 fans at Finley Stadium on Saturday.
CFC now has nine points in league play, with a 3-0 record. The goal allowed Saturday was the first in three league matches. The club will next face the Atlanta Silverbacks of the North American Soccer League in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. The Silverbacks defeated CFC 5-0 last season in the same round of the nation's longest-running tournament.
The Chattanooga club advanced to the next round this season by virtue of a shootout victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads last Wednesday in North Carolina. CFC won 3-1 over the Hammerheads at Finley in 2014, but the match was much tighter this time. Baker had a save in the shootout, which helped seal the win.
"I'm definitely following some big boots in Greg," Baker said. "But I took my opportunity. It's good to get experience with the guys and show what I'm about. We've had two big games -- very big games -- and I tried to do what I could and what I know best. It's not about me, though. It's a team game and we work together."
Luke Winter gave the team the scoring it needed, with goals in the ninth and 33rd minutes, with assists from Luis Trude and Leo De Smedt. CFC took that 2-0 lead into the locker room and held it until the 77th minute, when a scramble inside the CFC box led to a goal by the Jesters' Noel Johnson, who was injured on the play.
Moments later, confusion ensued when New Orleans defender Simon Nett headed the ball back to goalkeeper Liam Davies. Officials called unsportsmanlike conduct on Nett for the play and showed him a yellow card -- his second, an automatic red card and ejection.
The Jesters defended the free kick perfectly and were able to stop a Winter attempt. Minutes later, they stopped a header attempt by the CFC forward, but CFC was able to put the match away in extra time on a goal by Chris Ochieng, assisted by Samuel Goni.
"We came off a 10-hour bus ride to Wilmington on Wednesday, played a professional team for 120 minutes, then made a 10-hour ride back," CFC coach Bill Elliott said. "We just hoped to make it through tonight. It wasn't our best performance, but it was enough to get the job done. The boys showed heart and character despite sore muscles, aches and pains.
"We had chances to put the match out of reach at halftime, and in the second half we had a couple of good chances, but New Orleans had some good defending -- desperate defending, but good. We have to get better at finishing or it will come back to haunt us later in the season."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.