Atlanta United 2 ruthlessly capitalized on Connecticut United’s mistakes to turn what was on paper an even match into a 4-1 rout in their home finale on Tuesday, gaining vital breathing room in a heavily-congested playoff race in the Eastern Conference as the regular season winds to a close.
Connecticut’s first mistake was both early and costly. In the 22nd minute, they failed to clear an Atlanta free kick and, after some chaos in the box, Atlanta’s Daniel Chica headed home from close range to open the scoring. Chica, who scored the winning penalty in their shootout win over Inter Miami II in their last outing, got credit for the goal, but the ball bounced in off a Connecticut defender’s head and could just as easily have been ruled an own goal.
Even though that 1-0 score held into the break, a match in which neither team was definitively better was certainly there for Connecticut’s taking.
The visitors clearly recognized this, as they were the much better side to start the second half. At least, they were until they were undone by two more calamitous errors just a few minutes apart. Talisman and top scorer Barnabás Tanyi was given his marching orders in the 54th minute after sticking his foot out at Atlanta’s Matthew Senanou in frustration after fouling him following a lengthy scrap for the ball. The undermanned Coywolves refused to retreat into a shell and kept pressing Atlanta with the balanced nature of the game in mind. But their bravery quickly became for naught as Atlanta doubled the lead 12 minutes later, and this time Connecticut defenders officially couldn’t keep their names off the wrong side of the scoresheet as Michael Boamah turned an Atlanta cutback into his own net for an own goal in the 66th minute.
Urgency now began to set in for Connecticut and forced them to keep pace with Atlanta, which they initially managed to do well enough to give themselves a pulse with Daniel D’Ippolito‘s sixth goal of the season in the 79th minute. That joy was fleeting; Cameron Dunbar scored his ninth of the campaign and third in as many matches in the 85th minute, without any help from Connecticut defenders. Connecticut’s unforced errors continued to undermine their hard work to keep the game competitive. Bryan Destin strayed offside to negate a goal that would’ve given his side a lifeline in stoppage time. Connecticut finished digging their own grave with another own goal from Lukas Kamrath barely a minute later to reach the final scoreline.
While that scoreline may flatter Atlanta because they weren’t nearly as dominant as a 4-1 win would suggest, Senanou lauded his team’s ability to get under their opponents’ skin and cause them to act rashly.
“Attackers definitely don’t like being grabbed, being locked down, et cetera,” Senanou said. “It’s an emotional game, and when emotions are high, reason is low.”
Head coach Jose Silva agreed that his attackers are experts at frustrating and wearing out opponents, but he attributed that mostly to overall individual quality rather than gamesmanship.
“Up top, we have some players who have a lot of quality like Cameron Dunbar and Enzo Dovlo; they’re in the top three wingers in the league,” Silva said. “They can create things for themselves.”
This win creates precious separation in the East’s tight playoff race and moves Atlanta to third in the East on 45 points. While other results mean that they still haven’t mathematically guaranteed a playoff spot, they’re practically assured of one with only two games to go. Those two games are both on the road, first against Chattanooga on Sunday followed by the regular season finale against Orlando City B, who Atlanta brushed aside 5-1 in their previous home fixture, on Sept. 20.
Connecticut sits sixth with 43 points and much less breathing room in the jam-packed playoff race. They’ll conclude their regular season with a visit to NYCFC II and by hosting wooden spoon leaders Inter Miami II, both on the same dates as Atlanta’s matches.