Jay Fortune suddenly can’t stop scoring.
The Atlanta United homegrown midfielder had just two goals in 77 previous first-team appearances across all competitions. He now has two in as many matches, after his 86th-minute tally rescued a 1-1 draw at Orlando City on Saturday night.
After returning from a mid-foot sprain suffered with Trinidad and Tobago during the 2025 Gold Cup that sidelined him for nearly nine and a half months, Fortune has looked as if he hasn’t missed a step. In fact, he’s looked better.
“After the injury happened, no one knew where I’d be, how I would respond to it,” Fortune said. “Luckily, everything is starting to move in the right direction.”
Fortune’s “connection” with fellow homegrown Matt Edwards pays off
Fortune’s goal was the result of clever work done by Matt Edwards just outside the right edge of the Orlando box. He cut the ball back to Fortune, who hammered it first-time past a lunging Maxime Crépeau to put Atlanta back on level terms.
“The whole game, I was just kind of waiting for a ball to come top of the box, wasn’t able to get one,” Fortune said. “Matt comes on, and luckily, you just kind of have that connection for a while.
“I always look there first, and once the ball got cut back, at first I was going to take a touch, but I saw the defender coming, so I couldn’t do that. From there, it’s just (relying) on technique and all that stuff to put it where it needs to go.”
That “connection” was forged well before Edwards and Fortune entered Atlanta United’s academy. As children, the two played in the Inter Development Fútbol youth league in Raleigh, where Fortune’s father, Andre, was their head coach and the league’s technical director.
“We’ve kind of had a similar education of the game,” Fortune said. “He gave me a little hard time in the locker room in training. I’ve missed a few times when he’s cut those back, and I told him I was training, so hopefully in the games I’ll be okay.
“But it felt great to be able to connect because we’ve worked really hard for the past however many years to try and make it to this level, and to see it produce is a great feeling.”
“There’s more that I need to tap into”
While Fortune’s primary role on the pitch is to help create goals, that hasn’t stopped him from trying to score some himself.
“I think when you look at some of the best midfielders to play the game, at the end of the day, they still score goals, they still create goals, and not just in this league, but all over the world,” he said. “And I think for me, it’s something that I needed to work on over the last few years. Thankfully, I have two and two, and I want to keep going to try and get more.”
Despite his form over the past several games, the 23-year-old understands that he’s not a finished product. With Tuesday’s Open Cup quarterfinal against Orlando looming, if he’s able to build on that form, Atlanta could find itself in the semifinals.
“As I talk with my dad and people around me, they still believe that there’s more that I need to tap into. So for right now, I’m just going to continue to flow with things,” he said.
“The person I’m not is to think that I’ve made it or I’ve peaked or anything like that. I just want to keep getting better day by day, game by game.”
Play…the…kids!!
3 of our 4 best players recently are “kids” – Sanchez, Edwards, and Fortune. Miranchuk has been our best player, though not a kid at all in Soccer terms. Let’s add Hibbert to the group!
He’s 23? When did that happen?