Notepad in hand, I watched Napoli take on Chattanooga Red Wolves in the USL League One group stage. The hosts edged through 1-0 on Saturday evening at 23:00 local time. One goal decided it, and by then the pattern was already set.
The decisive moment came in the 43rd minute when G. Miglietti stepped up to take a penalty. He placed it home to give Napoli the lead. To be fair, neither side created much after that. Chattanooga had more possession at 56 per cent and threw 89 attacks forward, but they could not find the net.
Yellow cards piled up as the game wore on. Napoli collected five, Chattanooga five as well. The visitors saw J. Osorio and A. Lombardi booked in the closing stages, while Napoli's J. Cisneros and H. Uderitz also saw cards. The game grew scrappy, and here's the thing — neither keeper had a testing afternoon. Napoli's man made five saves, Chattanooga's two.
By then the substitutions were coming thick and fast. Napoli brought on W. Wessels in the 52nd minute and I. Cerro shortly after. Chattanooga responded with K. O'Connor and T. Collins together in the 71st minute, then D. Clapier and P. Hernandez in the 73rd. The final changes saw Osorio and Lombardi swap places in the 89th minute.
The numbers tell a story of missed opportunities. Both sides created zero big chances all evening. Napoli shot three times on target from ten attempts, Chattanooga five on target from thirteen. Shots accuracy sat at 25 per cent for the hosts and 29 per cent for the visitors. They kept knocking on the door without finding the handle.
What this means in the table is straightforward. Napoli remain 11th with 31 points from 27 games — nine wins, four draws, fourteen defeats. Chattanooga sit 6th on 43 points, thirteen wins, four draws, ten losses. The gap between them is twelve points, and neither side moved closer to the other tonight.
