Good morning, folks.
I don’t know what to tell y’all. We all knew things were going to get worse before they got better with this rebuild, the lack of substantive changes in the transfer window, and the run of bad luck that seems to have plagued Atlanta United. What made this match hurt worse than many others this season is not the fact that we lost; it is the team’s inability to reward the unique heroism of Miguel Almiron, Tristan Muyumba, Tomas Jacob, and Lucas Hoyos. We had no business winning this match, but they made us believe.
When Enea Mihaj was sent off with an early and suspect red card in the 25th minute, past versions of Atlanta United would have packed up shop and been blown out 4-0. Within minutes of going down to ten men, Miguel Almiron scored the ugliest goal you will see on his highlight reel, but it was just enough to inspire his teammates. They battled for over an hour at a severe disadvantage, adding a second goal from Tristan Muyumba, but that was not enough.
Plenty will be written about the officiating, and plenty more will be written about Tata Martino’s substitution patterns and how that fits into larger criticisms spanning back to his previous tenure as the club’s first manager. Both of those things are valid and deserve their time and place. For now, I want to commend the heroism of the players who refused to quit, even when their bodies had little left to give. It is excruciating to see those remarkable efforts wasted.
We will have a lot to talk about on the Sunday Night show and in the weeks ahead, so tune in tonight at 9 PM and join us for what will hopefully be a busy couple of weeks of transfer rumors as we wait for play to resume against the New York Red Bulls on August 15th.
Also, the NCAA Men’s College Soccer preseason is nearly here, so keep your eyes out over the next month and a half as we dive back into Atlanta United’s development pipeline to see which players could be the future of Atlanta United.
Top Story
Atlanta United at Philadelphia Union: I, too, like broken hearts
From down a man and up 2 goals to down a man and losing 3-2. Welcome to Atlanta.
Games to Watch
Liga MX
- América v Santos, 7:00 PM ET
- Toluca v Necaxa, 9:05 PM ET
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That’s your rundown for today, written by Grey. See you at the next one.