Chattanooga Football Club head coach Bill Elliott talks with the team after a recent practice in Finley Stadium.Luke Winter, Thomas Halsell and the Chattanooga Football Club were able to answer some questions about their team in the season-opening win against the Georgia Revolution last Saturday. Tonight they’ll receive a much larger test.
The club will play in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup at 7:30 p.m. against the Wilmington (N.C.) Hammerheads of the United Soccer League Professional Division. The Hammerheads are 2-1-2 on the year, while CFC stands at 1-0 after its 2-0 dismantling of the Revolution.
CFC played its first match with a week of training and without a full roster. It had goals from Winter and Michael Brooks, while the defense — completely revamped from last year — pitched a shutout, with Halsell getting the win in goal.
“I was really pleased,” CFC coach Bill Elliott said Monday. “I was pleased with the two goals that we created as well as the shutout on the other end of the field for a group of players that weren’t as familiar with each other as we’d liked. It was a good performance.
“I knew we had some players that could score goals, but you never know if you’re going to. The defense was untested and there were new players all across the back, so for the players to post a shutout, I thought it was a great performance.”