Chattanooga, TN – Central Valley Fuego FC secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in an intense match at CHI Memorial Stadium.
The game started brightly for Fuego as Dembor Benson scored an early goal in the 8th minute, giving his team a 1-0 lead. However, Chattanooga found an equalizer through an unfortunate own goal by Fuego’s Abdul Razak Cromwell in the 36th minute. The first half ended with the score tied at 1-1, with Chattanooga’s Stefan Lukic receiving a yellow card in stoppage time (45+5).
Chattanooga made a substitution at halftime, bringing in Tobi Jnohope for Yahir Paez. The second half saw more intense action, with Alfredo Midence of Fuego receiving a yellow card in the 51st minute. In the 63rd minute, Chattanooga made a double substitution, introducing Lucas Coutinho and Jamil Roberts, while Fuego brought on Jose Carrera-Garcia, who made an immediate impact by scoring the go-ahead goal in the 64th minute with an assist by Midence.
The game continued to be physical, with Chattanooga’s Declan Watters receiving a yellow card in the 69th minute and several substitutions following, including the introduction of Mouhamed Dabo for Fuego. In the 85th minute, Carlos Ávilez of Fuego received a yellow card for a tactical foul. Chattanooga’s Fernando Guerrero was booked for a reckless offense in the 99th minute, shortly after Qudus Lawal of Fuego received a yellow card for a similar reason.
The match concluded with Central Valley Fuego FC holding on to their 2-1 lead. Jose Carrera-Garcia’s decisive goal earned him the Player of the Match award, capping off a crucial win for Fuego, who avenged their previous 2-4 loss to Chattanooga earlier in the season.
Jose Carrera-Garcia:
“I think it was a really good game, it was back and forth. We started off really well. I think the guys worked really hard, I think if you see our last five six games, we improve every game. We play more as a team, you know we do the little things a little better. And those errors that we were doing constantly we are minimizing them, so in terms of that I’m really happy. I think we are going in the right direction and I think game by game we are going to get better.”
Shavon John-Brown:
“From the jump, we started the game good and then they got back into the game. We did what we had to do, Jose dug deep and we went up 2-1. I’m going to be straight up, we had a chance, well I had a chance to kill the game. But I didn’t and the boys rode it out and dug deep and we got the win, I al greatful for that. We keep moving forward.”
Jermaine Jones Jr.
“Good game, I think it was a big response from the team again. Clearly if you watch the whole game you see that we were in control of the game. They got dangerous because of breaks, they let us play and then on the counter breaks they would be dangerous. But it’s the response of the team, how they came back from the 1-1, making it 2-1, and then having the chance with Shavon to make it 3-1. I think all together it was a good performance from every single player, the ones who came in and the ones who started. Carlos had a couple of good saves to keep us in the game. We have to go game by game and see where it brings us.“
About Central Valley Fuego FC:
Established in 2002, Central Valley Fuego FC is the region’s sole professional soccer club. Competing in USL League One, the club made its professional debut in April 2022. In 2024, all home matches will be hosted at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. Central Valley Fuego FC is dedicated to uniting the community through the love of soccer. For more information, visit www.fuegofc.com
