Atlanta United traveled back down to the Sunshine State – again – to take on Orlando City in a rematch from the historic Decision Day upset. Unfortunately, it simply wasn’t meant to be and the Five Stripes’ amazing playoff Cinderella run came to an end. The game played out a step off for Atlanta, as they struggled to put shots on goal but consistently seemed inches from playing the effective pass or the crucial tackle. Either way, it’s been an inspiring end of the season for a team that had some incredibly low valleys in 2024. Here are the final whistle thoughts for the last time in 2025, and y’all be sure to stay tuned to ScarvesAndSpikes.com all offseason for all the latest news and analysis, and go subscribe to our Youtube for our podcast content!
The Lineup
At first glance, folks might have looked at the change in this match to a back-three by Rob Valentino as the antithesis of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” concept. But Atlanta United has had success with playing with three center backs when they have time to prepare for the changes. With the return of Stian Gregersen, it seemed like a coin toss as to whether Ronald Hernandez would start in the traditional four-back system. It seems that a major deciding factor was keeping Orlando’s main goalscoring threat in Facundo Torres in check on the left side.
Without the switch, Pedro Amador would’ve had his hands full with his primary defensive responsibilities, with less moments to bomb high up the pitch and get involved in the attack as he’s successfully done for two months now. With Luis Abram behind Amador, the squad has the added benefit of helping shut down Torres while freeing up Pedro to spin up his exquisite left foot.
Jamal Thiare and an early sub
Jamal Thiare was taken down from a tough foul – no yellow shown – about midway through the first half, and he continued to struggle until he was subbed out in the 39th minute. It appeared to throw off Atlanta’s game plan, or at least their momentum, and Orlando snagged a pesky and weak opening goal. Daniel Rios came on for the rest of the half before he was subsequently drilled with the ball on the opening kickoff in the second half and had to be subbed off for Ronald Hernandez.
This transitioned the team from some variation of a 3-5-2 shape to something along the lines of an amoeba. Ronald Hernandez pushed up slightly higher than normal, while Saba began operating as a number 9. It led to some opportunities early in the second half as Atlanta chased the equalizing goal. To be fair, it also created some incredibly stress-inducing moments on defense. The end result simply wasn’t enough, as Atlanta just couldn’t put much of anything on goal.
The fans, again
Y’all showed out heavy in a true rivalry game, kudos. The away end was very red and black, with plenty of Atlanta colors interspersed throughout the stadium. No matter what, the fans did the job and have to be applauded.
It was a good run
Rob Valentino led this team through some wild moments in the second half of 2024, and whether he returns as head coach next year, he’ll always hold a legendary place for the Five Stripes. His team beat the odds on Decision Day, his team pushed past an old club phenom to secure a true playoff spot, and his team dropped the titan GOAT Messi and all his friends. While the season was a struggle, 2024 should be remembered for those moments, and now let Garth and company get to shopping and cooking to make 2025 a season of silverware.
Vamos, Atlanta!
Unfortunately the reality of the squad shone through. Brooks was a big loss but we remain weak at ball control and distribution in central midfield and lack a real striker combo up front. Saba was player of the year in my book. The back line especially Williams played well. Many changes needed so hope the manager decision is fast.
It looked like orlando had a strategy to foul Thiare early, often, and hard to neutralize him. They knew we were basically toothless without him. Crazy that they were able to knock him out of the match without so much as a yellow card.
They were able to neutralize both of our #9s through injury and force us to play without a true center forward. Ironically, we were most dangerous against them when Saba was teleporting around the field.
Knocking Rios out (literally) was a fluke. He wasn’t going to be nearly as dangerous as Thiare. Agree on Saba.
In general I agree, though he was a decent goal scorer. Not a starter, but not a bad sub at times. But to have him and Thiare removed from the game against their own admission is tough. Not to mention, not getting a damn yellow for Thiare’s foul was criminal.
i’ll be the first to say it…Alexey isn’t it. He’s not a winger, he’s not a 9, he’s not a 10…at least he’s none of those things with Rob. Maybe a new coach will unleash him, not sure, but so far i’m not convinced he’s fit to play the Miggy/Pity/Marcelino/Almada role. Maybe an 8.
Agreed….the game seems to slow down with him thus far when he has the ball and he hasn’t seemed to be able to break down defenders consistently, doesn’t have blazing speed, (or) create his own shot/set others up regularly which was a huge plus with Almada because teams had to in a sense pick their poison with him being able to shoot accurately from distance/in transition/free kicks and also had speed and was an excellent facilitator in transition to aide our attack.
He seems to be best when he doesn’t have to carry the ball forward. If we can relay it with one or two touches, crack a shot around the edge of the box, or be part of a quick sequence, he is far more effective than when we rely on him to move with the ball at his feet. He had a few brilliant moments when he made a play happen, but I think those are the outliers for him. He needs to be able to focus on playing as a connector through the opposing backline to a shifty CF or crashing flanking attackers.
Agreed, I see him more as a second striker type of 10, like Mueller when he was playing with Lewandowski at Bayern. Bringing in a DP 9 with good movement and a DP/max TAM LW to go with Saba and we should have an improved offense sorted out.
I actually really like this comparison, and I think finally classifies what Miranchuk is: he’s a Raumdeuter. He’s not fast or technically gifted, he just knows where to be and knows where to send the ball. That’s not going to work in isolation, but put him with other strong players and suddenly he’s the best player on the field while simultaneously still looking almost invisible.
I think that team goal to get the lead vs Miami in leg 2, with Silva, is the perfect example of this. You hardly notice Miranchuk in that play, but replace him with Almada, and that play probably never actually happens.
See, I don’t see him as a striker at all…he’s a connector and that’s more of that 8 vs. 9 or 10. He can dribble and control the ball, but he always looks to be making the next pass instead of attacking/progressing into the box.
He’s not nearly active/good enough in defense to be an 8. I agree he’s not a 9 for sure. He’s not really a conventional 10, but what he’s done a lot of is the final pass before the shot. I think he occasionally takes a shot, but usually sees a pass first. That’s why I think that Mueller/Raumdeuter role is exactly what he is.
I think thats pretty harsh. This game was simply a regression to the mean for this group of players. McCarty was a great option to play the Inter Miami over 35s, but choosing to go with 3 CBs and 3 CMs is a roll of the dice that basically says “if you are going to beat us, its not from getting overrun in the middle,” and it has its drawbacks.
Orlando was generally better in transition defense than Miami and much better overall than Montreal.
On top of all that, with 2 strikers going down, we had to call upon Ronald Hernandez of all people.
I think we need to see how he plays with an improved roster. I thought he’s had several strong games that have gone underappreciated.
You make some great points which hopefully will be addressed this offseason since the striker position for 1 wasn’t addressed over the summer when Alexey was brought in.
Honestly, Ronnie had a strong substitute appearance other than a couple of moments that didn’t end up hurting us. When he had played as a true RB over the last few months, he looked good. Bringing in Ronnie had more to do with unlocking Saba than fixing the hole at the 9.
I am curious why they didn’t try Wolff at the 9, though. He can play a poacher role up there when given the chance.
While I am happy that our season was extended into late November (despite the roller coaster of a season myself & fellow 17s experienced during the regular season) which included the dispatching of Messi & co. in the 1st round. I can’t say with certainty that we would have necessarily beaten Orlando City even with a different cast of players. However, I do believe that we might have been a little more competitive in this game from an attacking standpoint/hungry if we had addressed our need of at least adding a true striker to pair with Miranchuk over the summer because there were too many times overall this season where when the ball would be pushed up the field no one would be there to receive it/threaten and the opposing team would turn the loose ball into a transition moment (&/or) just control possession. Also, while I want to congratulate this team for going on a Cinderella run even though it was short lived I wish we were more consistent from game to game because that was another glaring issue with the team this year…maintaining consistent play for long stretches over the regular season other than the stretch from Decision Day through the Inter Miami series (even though it was a 2 week break since the last time we played a match against Inter Miami and some players were on international duty).
I blame the loss on our secondary kit. As much as like like the color and design of the secondary kit, but that kit is cursed…I know next season we are supposed to get a new primary kit, but it would be nice if we could get out of the secondary kit as well, or at least wear it little as possible.
I was not a fan of the Resurgens kit this season either and added it to my list of bad kits from past seasons (Ex: Forest Green kit). Also, even though we’re supposed to be getting a new primary kit I still wish the 17s’ kit could be transitioned to be used as an alternate jersey/3rd kit because I like it so much!
Bring back the king peach or the gold
No…hell no. I hated the king peach.
I liked the peach for what it represented but as it kit it wasn’t the most amazing. I thought the gold was kinda mid. Maybe better if we were better when we used it.
I guess I am too American. I like the idea of home color , away white variations. A white kit with red/black accents would be just fine. I hate tuning in and seeing green or blue for atl utd
I liked the gold one better than the king peach kit!
Well, we were playing with house money, and gave them a game. Not a bad end to a crazy season that finished with a roster missing two DPs and lots of injuries. Looking forward to seeing what this team can do next year with some targeted acquisitions. The core is there, and the team plays with a lot of heart!
How many seasons have we looked to an off-season with the hope of shrewd player acquisitions or a new manager only to have the exact…same…things …happen the next year and have another listless campaign? I want to be wrong…I really, really do.
That ref sure was ready to get the hell out of dodge at 97:00:00:00. Seems like that 7 minutes had plenty of time wasting to at least give us 30 more seconds on that very last possession.
Hard fought end of season, we were down to the equipment manager at the 9 spot bought fought on ! Proud of all of them and yes I saw the fans on TV kudos to them thank you scarves and spikes for all you do love my team the badge and everyone in these comments til next year Vamos Atlanta !
Thank you guys for an amazing season. When life got tough, I could always look forward to Atlanta playing on the weekend and hanging out with you all. I love you guys and the community you all have built. It’s been a tough season but it has been easier with ya’ll. I love you all, I love this city, this club, this badge. See you guys next season.