U.S. Open Cup presents the rare opportunity to see some players who aren’t in Atlanta United’s typical starting core, and those are exactly the guys who stepped up to secure the team’s place in the round of 16 with a 3-1 win over Chattanooga FC on Wednesday at Finley Stadium.
This was the team’s first win in the historic competition since advancing over Charleston Battery on penalty kicks (5-4) after a 0-0 draw on May 21, 2024. It is the third time in the club’s history that it advances to the round of 16.
Tata Martino rolled out a heavily rotated starting lineup to debut in this competition. Jayden Hibbert started in goal for the first time this year behind a backline of Juan Berrocal and Ronald Hernandez as center backs and Pedro Amador and Matthew Edwards as fullbacks. Will Reilly was the single pivot behind dual No. 8s Matías Galarza and Jay Fortune. Finally, Fafa Picault and Alexey Miranchuk started as wingers while Cayman Togashi led the line as the striker.
It was a bleak start for the Five Stripes as Chattanooga FC opened the scoring in the sixth minute after a ball over the top of the backline found Yves Tcheuyap, who finished top bins at the near post after leaving Berrocal in the dust.
Atlanta United woke up in the 21st minute as it began to create some excellent chances. It found the equalizer through Cayman Togashi, who slid in to poke the ball home after a cross by Jay Fortune. The finish was good, but the most impressive part of the play was Pedro Amador’s throughball to Fortune that set up the chance.
Momentum favored the Five Stripes as they took the lead in the 64th minute through Fafa Picault. Juan Berrocal played a beautiful through ball for Miguel Almiron, who cut it back to Togashi. After the New York native’s attempt failed, Picault put away the rebound for 2-1.
Pedro Amador put the cherry on top in the 75th minute after connecting with a Luke Brennan cutback inside the box. His shot deflected off a Chattanooga defender before nestling in the bottom left corner to make it 3-1 to the Five Stripes.
Overall, there were some very encouraging performances by some of the team’s typical depth pieces. Aside from his goal, Cayman Togashi was very active in the final third with excellent positioning and some good runs. Jay Fortune started his first game in almost a year and absolutely balled out, helping set up multiple dangerous chances and doing an excellent job of connecting the team’s play. Finally, Pedro Amador proved he can still be an absolute menace on the left side, generating a big chance and two key passes during the game in addition to his goal.
While it’s true that this is just one match against a lower division opponent, these players and more gave very positive accounts of themselves that should make Tata Martino’s lineup decisions a lot harder going forward. They’ll need to carry on the momentum and take things up a notch when they face MLS rival Charlotte FC in the next round.
Atlanta United returns to MLS play when it hosts Eastern Conference-leading Nashville SC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, April 18.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments below!
At this point ill take a win. Even against a USL side.