Chattanooga Football Club's John Carrier and Knoxville Force's Cameron Schneider battle for the ball June 7, 2016 at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga Football Club's William Roberts and Knoxville Force's Tyler Linkous battle for control of the ball June 7, 2016 at Finley Stadium.It had been almost two seasons since John Carrier had scored a goal in a Chattanooga Football Club uniform.
So when he did end the "drought," he did so in style.
Carrier finished with two goals while Juan Hernandez added a goal and an assist Tuesday night in Chattanooga FC's 4-0 win over the Knoxville Force in front of 2,787 fans at Finley Stadium. The win gives CFC 12 points in league play with a spotless 4-0 mark.
The club (6-2 overall) will to New Orleans for a match Saturday against the Jesters.
CFC coach Bill Elliott felt his club kind of "wore them down a little bit" as the match progressed. All four goals were in the second half.
"We were on the attack in the first half," Elliott said. "To get that goal straight out of half was huge. It changes the game, because they're forced to take some chances, and it left them a little more exposed and allowed us to go on and get some goals, so I'm pleased overall."
Carrier missed the 2015 season and last scored for CFC in July 2014, so he was pleased to see net results on two of his three shots. The other one resulted in a corner kick in the 23rd minute.
"It's great to be out on the field again," Carrier said. "I don't think I've played 90 minutes in two years, so it's great to be out there with the lads again. And to score not one, but two good goals, I'm buzzing for the team, not just myself."
After Sindre Welo opened the scoring with a goal in the 49th minute, Carrier scored in the 66th and 74th minutes. Hernandez assisted Carrier's second goal, then punched in a goal with about five minutes to play for the final margin.
Meanwhile, the CFC defense was pitching its first shutout since May 18, ending a string of five consecutive matches in which the team had given up at least one goal.
"We had a couple of frustrating results," midfielder Matt Aldred said. "We felt like we were due a big performance, a big beating against this side. They came in with a bit of confidence, but we had players on the bench that we knew could come in and change the game, so it was up to us as a back four, goalkeeper and myself to keep it tight and keep reminding the lads that we want to keep clean sheets."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.