Atlanta United WON A GAME??? This can’t be real… someone pinch me.
I’ve had to push back working on this column due to several things that came up in the past week and a half, but finally I am here to deliver my Risers and Fallers for Atlanta United’s 1-0 win over Nashville SC!
I am happy to report that going back and rewatching this game was much more enjoyable than most of the others I’ve had to sit through, particularly due to the risers. Let’s dive into them now.
Risers
Jayden Hibbert
Man, if only we’d discovered Jayden Hibbert sooner in the season.
The 21-year-old delivered a second consecutive clean sheet with seven (!!) saves to deny a potent Nashville SC attack, including this one against Golden Boot leader Sam Surridge, where he just manages to push it onto the crossbar.
I think there’s no question about it at this point: Jayden Hibbert has to be the new No. 1 for Atlanta United. Four games with a whopping 93% save percentage in which he hasn’t made any truly glaring mistakes should be enough evidence that he’s got the chops.
Furthermore, from a roster construction perspective, keeping Hibbert as your starting goalkeeper gives you more flexibility. You don’t have to go and spend more money to bring in someone else who may or may not be better (and may require an international slot or TAM contract), so you can use those resources to address other needs across the squad.
Five Stripe fans aren’t the only ones catching onto Hibbert’s rising talent. Canadian Men’s National Team head coach Jesse Marsch has spoken very highly of him, and even called him up for Les Rouges’s September friendlies against Romania and Wales.
With Jayden Hibbert continuing to perform week in and week out, it seems safe to say that Atlanta United’s future between the sticks is in good hands.
Steven Alzate
I may be slightly biased when it comes to the club’s Colombian players (which shockingly there have only been TWO in EIGHT YEARS), but Steven Alzate genuinely looks really good so far.
In his first start for the Five Stripes, Alzate was constantly involved and helped solve a lot of problems for the team in the buildup. He would shrewdly draw defenders in, creatively dribble through traffic, and find a teammate with time and space. In two words: press proven.
Though not the fastest guy, Alzate uses his smart positioning to help him find the areas where he can best help his team. He recovered a few loose balls, which is something the team has struggled with often this season.
Oh, and he also assisted Ronald Hernandez’s game-winning goal with a beautiful free kick delivery.
It may be early, but Alzate looks like a very solid addition so far.
Ronald Hernandez
ROCKET RONNIE YOU’VE FINALLY DONE IT!!!
I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve really been pulling for Ronald Hernandez to get a goal this season. While not the best player on the team by any means, very few outdo him in sheer grit and passion. I’m glad he finally got his reward.
Adding six defensive contributions and two accurate long balls to his game-winner, the Venezuelan fullback had an overall solid showing against a top Nashville SC side.
Fallers
Luke Brennan
Every player has their bad games, and this was one of Brennan’s worst this season.
The 20-year-old homegrown winger struggled going up against MLS veteran Andy Najar, recording just one successful dribble out of five attempts. Furthermore, he lost two of his 11 duels and lost possession a whopping 14 times. This resulted in him having basically no presence in the attack.
Regardless, I’m not overly worried about this performance. I think this was an off game for Brennan, as we’ve seen him in other games beating defenders and making contributions in the final third. He still has plenty of years of development ahead and will surely continue to improve. He’ll likely also be on the USA squad at the FIFA U20 World Cup that kicks off later this month.
Alexey Miranchuk
Much like in my last column, I have to criticize Miranchuk’s production in this game. In the scoreless draw against Toronto FC, he at least had the excuse that he wasn’t exactly playing the No. 10 position, but this time he was.
He did have a couple of shots that were close to curling in, but besides that he didn’t contribute much. He created just two chances, which for a creative midfielder is very disappointing. After over a year of watching him here, I have to conclude that he just isn’t the right playmaker for a team with competitive aspirations.
Having said that, I would at least be interested in seeing the team try him as a second striker. Take all defensive responsibilities away from him and just have him float around up top, looking to get the ball close to goal so all he has to do is take shots since that seems to be what he’s best at anyways.
Of course, Emmanuel Latte Lath doesn’t seem to work well in a dual striker set up, so that creates another issue to sort out. Good thing they’ll have a few games of this season plus a full preseason to figure it out. That is, unless they can somehow convince another club to take Miranchuk off their hands in the winter.
Tristan Muyumba
Muyumba seems to have earned a permanent spot in my fallers lately.
I usually try to steer clear of using substitutes in these evaluations unless they were really good or really bad. Muyumba was the latter. After coming on for Steven Alzate, the midfield became much more fragile and the team saw itself under a lot of pressure as a result. As I’ve mentioned before, other teams around the league are ready for him and know they can force a turnover just by putting the Frenchman under pressure.
Statistically, he did virtually nothing going forward, had just one defensive contribution, and lost possession three times in 30 minutes.
Given that Bartosz Slisz will serve a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation, you can expect to see Muyumba starting against Columbus Crew on Saturday. I, for one, am concerned that Columbus’ strong and organized midfield is going to cause this team a lot of problems during the match.
What do you think of my picks? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to share who your Risers and Fallers are for this match!
Alzate looks the part as a midfielder who can get into space, connect a pass, pressure & progress and everything that comes with it. A much bigger improvement over Muyumba and even Fortune.
Muyumba, man, just…how? How did you come in and help control the midfield then just go absent? Wouldn’t mind seeing him head on out.
Brennan, his biggest issue is he needs more confidence. He’s not dangerous and backs know this, but if he could take defenders on, come inside and actually take a shot he’ll start to build that confidence. Has he taken an official shot yet? Feel like his pattern is the same. 1v1, dribble at defender, come inside, look to a pass.
Sooo, we are going to need a cheer for Hibbert.
Jay, Jay he’s our man
He can do it
Better than YOU can
Best I can do atm.