Riding the high of a three match winning streak, Atlanta United welcomed L.A. Galaxy to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for what’ll be their final match here for about three full months. For a majority of the match, the Five Stripes were clearly the stronger side, creating tons of chances, fighting with wild refereeing decisions, and overall looking like they would come out on top. After a Jay Fortune banger, though, they let the state of the game switch entirely and couldn’t keep control before allowing L.A. to snag two quick goals to go down 2-1. Here are the final whistle thoughts from the Benz.
Holding on to leads
I’ve been mentioning this for weeks, but Atlanta United isn’t comfortable yet when they’re in the lead. To be fair, they haven’t had a lot of practice lately, but to finally break a deadlock and then within minutes be down 2-1 is a pretty sure sign there’s still much fine tuning to be done. There’s a balance, and when Atlanta scores first they should, in theory, be chopping up the defense to snag another. But despite the attack looking better, it still lacks that full killer instinct. Meanwhile, the opposing teams begin pushing for a goal out of necessity, and the change in game state means the Atlanta is getting exposed.
Tata Martino
No matter how this one ended, it has to be mentioned how Tata Martino has started getting this roster to play at least to a competitive level. Last season, Atlanta United felt like 11 players on any given day who had never shared a pitch together. And no, this season didn’t start with smooth sailing, but the Five Stripes admittedly look like they’ve stepped up a notch as Tata reinforces what exactly he wants.
Tata said in his very first press conference back at the club that this was going to be a project, and he reinforced that point a couple of matches into the season. But for a squad that looked totally lost only a few months ago, there’s something to be said about a coach like Tata who continues to prove why he’s so widely regarded the world over.
Jay Fortune
And then he almost had another one immediately after.
Anyway, let’s take a step back. Jay Fortune has been on a different level since returning from his foot injury. He entered this match late and immediately made an impact (which his team subsequently erased, but that’s another story). What’s really enjoyable, though, is the confidence he’s playing with. There’s a different dimension to Jay now, one where he isn’t afraid to take on players or play a nifty back heel to throw a team off their step.
Between Jay and Cooper Sanchez, with Will Reilly getting his cameos as a bulldog, the youth of Atlanta’s midfield is looking quite bright.
Officiating
I didn’t want to bring this up, I never enjoy doing it, but the refereeing in this match was simply pathetic. I can deal with a couple of these fouls in a bubble, but the manner in which they were given was a greatest hits of poor officiating. The inconsistency of the types of fouls being called yellows very quickly created a sense of confusion amongst the players, because it was blatantly obvious they had no idea what constituted an actual foul in Fotis Bazakos’ eye.
And yes, by the letter of the law, does Matias Galarza make contact on and slightly block the keeper during the corner kick sequence that Juan Berrocal scored? The issue is the type of contact wasn’t called the entire rest of the match. The other inconsistency was Bazakos’ counting gestures for Hoyos to play the ball every time he had the ball at his feet, while quite literally allowing Marcinowski all the time in the world.
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Let us know below what you thought of the match.
I’ll argue there was a lot of good that came from this match despite the outcome. Yellow cards soften defenders though, and some of those cards were garbage. Either way, we had some great opportunities and have looked dangerous in the attack.
Wish Alexey did more, feel like he was a bit hamstrung. One thing Galarza doesn’t have is pace…he got easily beat on that breakaway.
While I hate seeing them lose, this one doesn’t bum me out as much as others have.
This is a good take. I do agree.
I’d say… If the 41st minute Berrocal header had not been incorrectly called back, and if Jacob’s 62 minute volley was 2 inches to the right – I think the impression of the match overall, would have been very positive. At that point, Reus’s late impact on the match would not have been as crushing, imo. We were the better team for the majority of the match, the refs influence was a disgrace, and absolutely affected the end result.
Biggest disappointment to me so far into the season is that it seems almost every player that Tata signed before this season is a worse option than what we had and yet they play.
Hoyos never looks comfortable and I still don’t see why he plays.
Baez and Jacob are both underwhelming and don’t really have a place starting.
Galarza is a stud, like him.
I’m sure I’m forgetting some and getting some confused, but it seems all of our signings have made the team worse.
1) At the game, ref was garbage, cheeks, buns, all of the above. I have frequently disagreed with the way games were over officiated or inconsistently officiated but I have never watched a game where I felt 100% certain, no doubt in my mind, that the ref was WRONG. Just plain wrong. Over and over again. That guy should not ref anymore or should be investigated for taking bribes. That’s how plainly and consistently wrong his decision making was.
2) I felt ATL was the better team. They deserved the win. If not for karmic justice then the run of play. The team looks more cohesive, like they believe in each other, like they want to play for each other. That was enjoyable to watch. Hats off to the team and Tata.
3) BUT, IMO, Tata waited too long to sub. Again. And did not sub off the player most in need of a rest. Baez. Got beat twice. Two goals scored. Amador should have come on after the Fortune goal.
4) Let’s hear it for Fortune! I agree, he is reinvigorated. I saw boldness and not just from him. Saba as well. Coop too. Jacob was a post’s width from scoring the goal of the season and winning the game. That was brash and ballsy. More of that please!
5) This game came down to DPs. One of their DPs came on and totally changed the game. Alexy played well and came close to doubling the lead. Loved to see the hussle from ELL tonight (between him and Muyumba that was the most slide tackles I’ve sen in a ATLUTD match in years) but he continues to underperform. Latte Lath’s off ball movements and aerial prowess leaves a-latte-lath to be desired. (sorry not sorry) We need better DPs.
6) It’s getting better though. After Fortune’s goal it sort of felt like old times in the Benz. Just for a moment.
7) What was up with the lack of announcing tonight? There was never an explanation as to why Berrocal’s header was called off. And why are there no more replays at the Benz? Any call that gets reviewed never gets replayed. Is there a deal with PRO to avoid scrutiny?
It is basically Tata’s MO in keeping players in too long. And I also think Amador is higher floor than Baez, so he should be playing more over Baez. I do think Atlanta should also focus more on the upcoming US Open Cup than next week’s MLS match. Fortunately, we are playing Orlando for both competitions.