At long last, the winless streak is over. After 57 days, 8 matches, and a plummet down to 14th in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta United finally found reprieve in a decisive 4-2 win over 2nd in the conference FC Cincinnati on Sunday. Now on short turnaround and three days of rest, can the Five Stripes turn this momentum into another upset against a dangerous Orlando City side?
Two assists from Alexey Miranchuk and goals coming from all over the pitch helped Atlanta offset the two second half goals inevitably conceded, giving both the team and fans a long awaited victory. It feels like it was only yesterday… well, 72 hours to be exact.
Matchday is upon us again, and while the midweek game should in theory let Atlanta United roll straight into the next one flying high, it also limits the amount of time any reinforcements off the injury report have to return. Gregersen (quad), Muyumba (knee), and now Josh Cohen (adductor) are all listed as out, while Lennon (hamstring) is upgraded to questionable headed into this one.
We know from experience how silly things like “form” and “standings” can go straight out the window when rivals are involved, but Orlando’s recent results aren’t to be looked past. Coming into the Benz on a twelve game unbeaten run, Orlando City have made easy work of their last three league games, which include a 3-0 shutout against Inter Miami on the road. Optimism is great and all, but do so at your own peril. One win does not a conference contender make.
Tonight’s kickoff from Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled for a 7:40 PM ET start, with streaming provided on Apple TV with a subscription to MLS Season Pass. Radio coverage will be available in English on 92.9 The Game and in Spanish on La Mejor.
Have the Five Stripes unlocked a better version of themselves and maybe turned a corner, or will their purple rivals bring on a harsh dose of reality? Join us in the match thread using the comments below as we find out together.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
Orlando City’s Lineup:
How to Watch:
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Kickoff Time: Wednesday, May 28th; 7:40 PM ET
Available TV/Streaming: Apple TV (with MLS Season Pass Subscription)
Available Radio: 92.9 The Game, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
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Jamal is a closer , he gets the coffee
Dont we have to start him now? Alexei coming on strong! Saba is our 10🤷♂️ Gotta stop literally giving the other team goals🤬. Ive been saying its gonna take us 4 goals to win any game…or maybe 3 and a red but first time this year i knew we were going to finish the game and win it. Lets keep that energy and urgency and we will get some more wins.
this is how Atlanta needs to continue playing. obviously, still needs to work on defensive positioning, but I will take the goals. don’t care most of it came after the Orlando red card.
Vamos Atlanta. Wow.
Oh Mosq…
Oh my days.
I am entertained !
(And alexei is having a great game)
Pineda ballllllllll
Hernandez is valiant but playing on the wrong side of field/wrong position. Sure would be nice if Gregerson ever played – Williams is serviceable but is not fast enough
We have shitty players that have poor touch and no IQ, no confidence, no skill and definitely no rhythm..they are bland and useless..just like their coach
This aged well.
While the comeback was great I do agree with the sentiment. We looked stagnant, uncreative, out of sync, and made bad mistakes before the red card. Kudos to the team for fighting hard and getting it done but I don’t know that there is any tangible thing we can say we did well before that and take it moving forward. Don’t ley the result cloud what was the reality for 80 plus minutes.
It’s still somewhat accurate. No confidence has been brought up this entire season. And poor touches are definitely a thing.
Well that was 💩 x 2
The left side is totally dead on the attack
THREE BLIND MICE!!!
SEE HOW THEY RUN!!!!
WEARING PINK CAUSE!!!!
THEY LOOK LIKE THEIR MUM!!!
YES MIRANCHUK
This stadium is crazy empty
Not that I’m there…
Well that was 💩
In the alternate jersey at home again.. WHY???
Blue uniforms strike again!!!!
Think a younger keeper gets to that fairly easily.
I think that is just a well placed shot by Orlando
Come on Atlanta. Let’s make it two wins in a row please
I want to see more from Pedro…he came in last year and impacts immediately, and continued through the playoffs. He hasn’t been much a factor this year (when he’s played) and feels very much like the missing piece in the attack. Give him freedom to move around and put defenders in difficult places.
well you will have to see him do more off the bench tonight since Hernandez is getting the start at LWB
And Hernandez doesn’t do well on the left side…we don’t have any good alternatives on the left, a key area we need to focus on.
The 2s took care of business on Sunday by beating Orlando City B 3-0. Let’s see if our first team can build on that.
And those are way goals, so they have to score 4 to beat us on aggregate.
(Mostly kidding)
Wish I could get there tonight.
The Cincy match Sunday was pretty much what I expected for this season while everyone gets used to playing together…manic, chaotic, urgent….kind of goes back to early early Eales days of just scoring more than our opponent with a leaky defense and a countering offense….only time will tell.
Tonight should be a pretty good test as to whether or not Sunday was a fluke. Hoping we can build on it a little bit, and get our D in better order. Also wondering if we can get rid of the strange “off switch” when the 2nd half starts – WTF is that?
I’d like to see Cobb start over Abram, only bc I think he is a tad more aggressive, but I’m not totally unhappy with Abram. I do like Edwards starting…think he has a bright future. Has anyone heard anything on Gregersons return?
And maybe Miggy and ELL will cash in on those opportunities – IMO that’s all nerves for both of them…just not used to getting those looks this season and then the head screws it all up when they think about it too much.
Here’s to NOT a fluke…
I would assume Abram is in instead of Cobb because he’s naturally left footed and at 3 CB’s and Derrick being more of a leader than the others, he gets center-CB, Abram gets left-CB and Edwards/Cobb get right-CB. I think Cobb over Edwards is a good call, but i’m guessing Edwards is needing time on field to grow. Probably will see Cobb tonight (my guess).
Horrible gaff by Derrick…geez