Wow, y’all. This one was a rollercoaster.
Rob Valentino started it all out by rolling the 4-3-3 from Wednesday back, with a few alterations. Stian Gregersen returned after serving his red card suspension, Jamal Thiare took over up top in place of Daniel Rios, and Jay Fortune switched out with Dax McCarty in midfield.
Much like Wednesday, Atlanta came out swinging. At the 20 second mark, Atlanta found space down the right with Brooks Lennon, who swung in a good cross through the 18 that went unmet.
From there, Atlanta didn’t back down. Xande Silva sparked a counter in the 8th minute, beating his man and dribbling down the left touchline, then playing a magnificent pass to Bartek Slisz in a one-on-one with Hagen… and then his controller disconnected on the shot.
Moments later, the Five Stripes were racing back down the field on a long ball over the top for Saba to chase and cross to a wide open Thiare, who would have certainly made it 1-0 if not for a brilliant save from Nicholas Hagen.
Breakaway after breakaway, the Five Stripes kept the counters coming, making decisions and splitting defensive lines like fans have been hoping to see for a while. Through the opening fifteen minutes, Atlanta put up five shots, with three on target. However, towards the end of the first half, the Crew settled in and began dictating the tempo of the match.
That tide turn culminated in the 36th minute, as the Crew won the ball back in Atlanta’s third, took it to the endline, and fired a shot at Brad Guzan. Guz saved, but the ball fell right to Diego Rossi, who tapped the ball into the back of the net with ease to put the visitors up 1-0.
Hagen came up big again as Atlanta United pushed to equalize, and the hosts went into the halftime break trailing.
Things didn’t get much better as the second half kicked off. Columbus dominated play after the restart, keeping Atlanta pinned back while holding on to the lead, y’know, like good teams do.
Then, in the 60th minute, Atlanta turned the match on its head. Saba Lobjanidze swung in a corner to the top of the six yard box, and Stian Gregersen rose to slam dunk header that one into the back of the net. Tie game.
With the momentum swung in favor of the Five Stripes, Atlanta kept pushing for the go-ahead goal. In the 76th minute, Atlanta won another corner. Saba swung it in, again. Stian Gregersen header, again. Back of the net. Again.
The Norweigan’s brace pushed Atlanta ahead, 2-1, and now tasked them with defending a lead against the defending MLS Cup champions- no easy task.
Atlanta put numbers behind the ball, absorbing all kinds of Columbus attacks through the remainder of regulation and minimum five minutes of stoppage. An injury to Daniel Rios late on pushed it well over, but Atlanta managed to hold on to their lead and never let it go, pulling off an unlikely victory in front of a home crowd.
What did you think of the Five Stripes’ victorious performance? Let us know using the ratings form using the link below.
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[…] Stian Gregersen nets a brace of headers, Atlanta United pulls off a 2-1 comeback over Columbus […]
Columbus got Outcoached! Glad to see it. We didn’t stop the ball when going forward at all, it was much quicker ball movement than past games or past years… Lennon should’ve done better on that cross, he didn’t even try to block the cross; sliding tackle to block ball? Well, no; too hard…
good win; can we repeat? We need to learn to get rid of ball quick when pressed (Muyumba, Silva are you listening?)
If you flipped the last two results and got 3/1 instead of 1/3 I think everyone is ecstatic. I also recall saying Stian wins that game for us last week and that feels prophetic a bit.
I did NOT see that coming…at all.
We only had 29% possession, but I enjoyed just about every second of that 29%. Great game!
I was only able to watch the second half, but I am thrilled to see the tactical work this coaching staff has done to give Gregersen free runs on these corner kicks. That could spark some much-needed fire for this team. Silva and Saba had good matches, too, and I liked what I saw from Lennon in the second half.
I’m concerned about our depth at 9. It looked like Jamal was holding his injured shoulder right before he was subbed off. Rios’s ankle injury also looked concerning. Wolff could be our only 9 on Friday against DC unless Ashton Gordon gets a chance in the Leagues Cup. Wolff has played very well as a poacher in the past. Maybe he rises to the occasion.
Wolff seems to have a knack for late/secondary runs into the box but that’s not really a striker’s role.