Despite a 2-0 loss to FC Cincinnati on Matchday 1, Tata Martino — and Atlanta United fans — could at least point to some good things that the team could carry over to the following week’s match at the San Jose Earthquakes.
By the time the final whistle blew on a dismal 2-0 loss to the Quakes, it’s fair to say it’s back to the drawing board.
Atlanta barely struggled to register anything resembling an attacking threat, not putting a shot on goal until San Jose goalkeeper Daniel turned aside a Miguel Almiron chance in the 89th minute.
“I think we need to find a different way to face the game, starting from the very beginning,” Martino said through an interpreter on Saturday night. “It worries me the way the team came out from the first minute. So we need to do a better job of being able to compete from the very beginning.”
By the time Timo Werner assisted on Ousseni Bouda’s goal in the 79th minute, it was clear that there’d be no way back for Atlanta. It was outshot 13-8 on the night, yielding six San Jose shots on goal while mustering just one of its own. If not for an offside flag wiping out Niko Tsakiris’s tally in the 70th, the scoreline would have been worse.
Our coverage of Atlanta United’s 2-0 loss at the San Jose Earthquakes
Martino noted some incremental improvement in the second half, though not enough to fully grow into the match.
“The second half, I think we started to see some things better,” Martino said. “And so, if I could choose, I would focus on the things we were doing in the second half.”
Ultimately, Atlanta’s performance was a painful reminder of its attacking deficiencies, especially for the high price tags it paid to boost that area of the pitch last year. It received next to nothing from the tandem of Almiron and Latte Lath, two of the highest-paid players in MLS in 2025. That’s in contrast to Judd and Ricketts, who made just over $300,000 last season.
If there’s any respite for Atlanta, it’s that its next match is at home. From the looks of it, though, there’s still a long way to go.
“It’s one thing if you’re trying to be brave and to play poorly. That’s a different story. But we weren’t happy with the way that the team started,” Martino said.
“We spoke about it at halftime, and we’ll continue to spek about it during the week.”
Every week, Scarves and Spikes brings you original interviews, on-site coverage, live shows/podcasts, and the analysis you won’t find at the bigger national outlets. With 2026 being a World Cup year, Atlanta United facing yet another important transfer window, the U.S. Soccer National Training Center setting up shop in the Atlanta area, and NWSL Atlanta kicking off in 2028, your support helps us do even more.
What you get on Patreon:
- Atlanta United training ground updates
- Discord access — talk Atlanta soccer with the SnS team and other supporters
- Patreon-only mailbags
- Grey Gowder’s analytical deep-dives on roster construction, the academy, ATL UTD 2, and more
Start your free trial
Pineda and I think Deila commented on the slow start from minute 1.
i’m buying Hibbert a subscription to Rosetta Stone so that maybe, just maybe, he can start over the inept south american that we brought in with all that “experience”.
Mira should’ve started – Sanchez had a good first game, but our midfield had no fluidity whatsoever.
If LL can’t even get a ball on target the LEAST he could do is run, i mean hes supposed to be fast, right??
Whoever still thinks Miggy should be the 10 needs a psych eval
If Miggy gets on the field, 10 or false 9 are where he should be. He operates best in space. He’s not a traditional winger.
Time to change up that starting XI. Front to back:
Sergio
Fafa/Gill/Saba
Amador/Muyumba
Baez/Mihaj/Gregerson/Jacob
Clearly LL isn’t delivering. Miggy is struggling. Miranchuk isn’t 90 minutes fit. We haven’t see Fafa/Sergio yet. Gill has shown quality. I really liked seeing Amador in that midfield lineup, he looked good for what was a garbage game. Muyumba, jury is still out, and Berrocal I still struggle to see how he and Mihaj are linking up.
Hoyos is definitely a problem. Always think it is a bad move to bring in a goalie that requires an international slots when there are plenty of goalies we could have brought in that doesn’t require an international slot to compete with Hibbert. If we didn’t bring in Hoyos, Atlanta would not have needed to buy an extra international slot at a premium price and still have a slot left to sign someone else.
We lose every week…..we are nothing special…we lose every week…..
Could have been a dynasty, but players chased the money…. management didn’t pay them….and other bad decisions…..
ATL UTD with the largest attendance, greatest fan base, and rocking play…has become just another sad Atlanta Pro Sports Franchise. Falcons suck, Hawks suck, Braves suck (yeah, that run of only one World Series in that long stretch makes you a sad franchise)….all the hockey teams sucked……..
Sad really….doing the same thing over and over again is insanity…..
Atlanta Braves has two World Series, not one. But all the others, definitely sucks
Techically its four….only team to do it in three different cities
It “worries” me too, Tata. But, I am not the coach. How about fixing it vs. worrying?
My dude. There is no magical coaching fix to having below average players at every position. Tata should start Jayden Hibbert over the train wreck of Lucas Hoyos. But there’s not much he can do to fix the fact that AU seems very likely to have missed on all three of their DP signings.
I agree. I’m confident Tata can get the most out of this squad. However, it’s apparent that the most this squad is capable of is mediocre soccer. .
I completely agree with your player comment.