The Five Stripes returned to winning ways for the first time in over a month after defeating visiting Charlotte Independence 3-0 in its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup round-of-32 match at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw.
Head coach Gonzalo Pineda rolled out a heavily rotated lineup consisting of mostly reserves and second team players. Both Ashton Gordon and Matt Edwards, who signed short-term agreements on Monday, were named in the starting XI. Goalkeeper Josh Cohen earned his first team debut after making two saves to help Atlanta United 2 defeat New York City FC II in a penalty shootout on Friday. Efrain Morales and Stian Gregersen were the starting center back pairing with Ronald Hernández at left back and Edwards at right back. Dax McCarty and Ajani Fortune formed the midfield duo behind Nick Firmino in the attacking midfield role. Up top, Gordon and Luke Brennan were deployed on the wings with Daniel Rios spearheading the attack.
The Five Stripes’ injury woes returned early in the match when Gregersen was forced off with an unspecified injury. He sat down on the field holding his head in the eighth minute before being promptly subbed off and replaced by Noah Cobb.
The lack of video review played to Atlanta United’s favor after Hernandez brought down Obregon Jr. inches inside the box in the 38th minute. It was extremely close, but Five Stripe fans breathed a sigh of relief when the referee indicated a free kick and not a penalty.
Much like in recent matches, Atlanta United’s ball possession and chance creation has not translated to the scoresheet. Despite having 67% possession in the first half and nine shots to Charlotte’s three, the Five Stripes couldn’t find the opening goal. Charlotte’s back five in a low block created many challenges for Atlanta’s attackers who frequently had trouble getting the ball into the box.
Firmino put the hosts in front after finishing an Edwards cut-back in the 52nd minute. After knocking on the door for much of the match, Atlanta United finally made its attacking momentum count to grab a 1-0 lead.
The first changes of the second half came in the 63rd minute when Brooks Lennon and Caleb Wiley came on to replace Edwards and Gordon.
The Five Stripes doubled the lead in the 70th minute after Wiley received the ball in space and cut it back for Firmino who finished to grab his second of the night.
Right after the goal for 2-0, Atlanta United made two more substitutions: Bartosz Slisz and Xande Silva entered the game to relieve Brennan and McCarty in the 71st minute.
The hosts put the game to bed in the 85th minute after Silva ran the ball to the endline and played a low cross to Rios who poked it into the back of the net to grab the third of the night.
The Five Stripes made their final substitution of the game in the 87th minute bringing on Adyn Torres for Nick Firmino.
The rest was simply waiting out the clock. Atlanta United saw out the rest of the match to punch its ticket to the next round and snap a five-game winless streak.
Atlanta United’s round-of-16 opponent will be the winner of Wednesday night’s clash between Charleston Battery and South Georgia Tormenta, and the match will be played on May 21st or 22nd.
The Five Stripes are back in action on Saturday when they host D.C. United in an MLS regular season match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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