Atlanta United traveled across the country for their Saturday night match against L.A. Galaxy, finally getting back to action after being bounced from the League’s Cup group stage earlier this month. The ultimate result was less than ideal, but to be completely fair, it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Five Stripes had two first half goals nullified by the offside flag and Brad Guzan saved a penalty, but a mishap at the top of the box led to the first Galaxy goal. Marco Reus then did what he does and sealed the match 2-0. Here are the final whistle thoughts from Atlanta vs LA Galaxy.
Jay Fortune
The kid was on fire from the opening whistle. He played all over the midfield, sprung a couple of counters, played some beautiful through-passes, and even took a couple of close shots. It was an incredible sight to see him step up and play such a mature, dynamic match, especially against the sheer talent that L.A. Galaxy holds. It almost felt as if his positioning threw the Galaxy for a loop, too, because in some sequences he found himself playing as a second striker, but moments later he was back assisting Dax McCarty and Bartek Slisz in breaking through pressure in their defensive third.
If Atlanta United has any hopes of making it to the playoffs and creating some chaos, it’ll take performances like Fortune’s from the whole squad. That’s not to say other players don’t deserve their flowers from moments in this match, but we have to remember it’s very likely Jay wasn’t supposed to start this match. Tristan Muyumba was scrapped from the sheet on Friday after suffering some hip soreness in training, and Fortune is the most obvious replacement. He performed more than admirably.
Transition moments
At the end of the first 45 minutes, Atlanta United held a whopping 30% possession. By definition, that means you have to rely on springing lethal, devastating counter attacks to have any chance of placing the ball in the back of the net. The Five Stripes did that semi-successfully twice in the first half, and unsuccessfully multiple times. Obviously, I only say semi-successfully because both goals were ruled offside, but the ideas were clear and present.
Jamal Thiare was crucial in his role at holding up the ball to help spring guys like Saba Lobjanidze and Xande Silva on counters. He won multiple battles to give his team that necessary moment to turn on the jets and put the Galaxy’s defenders on their heels, something that’s been missing from Atlanta’s ability to play in transition. The Galaxy ultimately had to resort to chopping Thiare multiple times to halt some of the counters, and that speaks volumes about how Thiare played.
Penaltyyyyy
What a penalty save by Brad Guzan. Absolutely clutch by the veteran. It’s frustrating that the team conceded a few minutes later, but Brad was phenomenal in this match.
Alexey Miranchuk
Fans finally got to see the newest Five Stripe in action when Alexey Miranchuk debuted in the second half. It was a very small sample size, but he had a strike in the final five minutes with that much-hyped left foot that simply continued to curl until it finally struck the woodwork. Needless to say, this was always going to be a tough match in which to put on an Atlanta shirt, but he showed well overall. Welcome to the A, Alexey.
Let us know down below what you thought of the match!
It was a pretty impressive game, the Galaxy just finished where we couldn’t. Lots of good transitional moments, shots on goal, getting in behind the defense, just not finishing. I’m really starting to question Xande though…makes me wonder what is going on that is causing players to stop wanting to play. It’s clear GG wasn’t interested anymore, can’t fault Thiago from getting an offer and moving on (that was always the plan with him) and Caleb can’t pass up that opportunity. But Xande, who used to be quite electric has lost his spark. I’ve been questioning Muyumba too and feel like Fortune is a much better option (though i still think we need a more aggressive 8). And where has Brooks been this season? Feel like he’s been told not to be aggressive anymore.
So Garth is going to apologize for the we’re back comments and refund the season ticket price increase, right?
That is funny.
Tactically they are back….just not where we want them.
We won’t be until we get a coach and fix midfield defense around our box.
And figure out how to score goals. The positive for the FO is that there’s tons of room to improve…