CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Sept. 13, 2026) - Atlanta United 2 fell 4-1 to Chattanooga FC on Sunday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. Arif Kovac scored his league-leading 19th goal of the season in the defeat. Atlanta remains in position to clinch its first-ever playoff berth with one point in its final match against Orlando City B on Sunday, Sept. 20.
In the 10th minute of the match, Chattanooga took the lead after a Jonathan Ransom error gave Alexander Krehl a shot on an open goal. Daniel Mangarov, running down the left wing, hit a low shot at Ransom from a wide angle inside the box that the goalkeeper looked to have covered. However, as Ransom lowered to one knee to scoop the ball into his chest, it spilled off his arms and through his legs, rolling to the goal line. Krehl, reacting quickly, beat both Ransom and Mohamed Cisset to the ball, tapping it into an empty net to make it 1-0.
Following the goal, Atlanta controlled the majority of possession and looked the more likely to find the next goal, but the remainder of the half was quiet, as the defensive structure of both teams prevented any further big scoring opportunities.
Chattanooga, after applying pressure early in the second half, found another goal to extend its lead in the 62nd minute. Hitting a ball to the right wing from a goal kick, Eldin Jakupovic found Yves Tcheuyap in space. With a few dribbles inside, Tcheuyap spotted the run of Alex McGrath in behind and played a through ball that beat three Atlanta defenders. Ransom, coming out of his areal to diffuse the sudden chance, was unable to prevent a goal as McGrath finished into the bottom left corner.
Three minutes later, Chattanooga found a third through the substitute Luke Husakiwsky. With a well-worked move outside the box that involved quick passes between four different Chattanooga players, Krehl ended up with a shot on the left side of the box that required a save from Ransom. The shot was stopped, but the ball spilled out to Husakiwsky, who was standing on the spot to slot home the rebound.
In the 86th minute, Damien Barker John scored a fourth goal for Chattanooga. Farid Sar-Sar, tracking a ball lofted to the back post from a free kick, played a headed pass centrally in the box. Ransom got a touch on the pass, but was only able to parry it back into the area, where Barker John was waiting to tap it into an open net.
Kovac broke the shutout in the 89th minute with his league-leading 19th goal of the season. Patrick Weah, holding the ball up in the box, found a backward pass to Toto Majub. Spotting Kovac in the center, Majub hit a first-time cross to him, and Kovac finished past Jakupovic with a flick of his head. With Krehl having scored earlier in the match to tie the 2026 Golden Boot race at 18, Kovac re-established himself as the sole leader for the award with the late goal.
Atlanta United 2 (13-9-5, 45 points) returns to action Sunday, Sept. 20, when it travels to Orlando to take on Orlando City B at Osceola Heritage Park (2 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here).
