Atlanta United are now four points richer after two road games, both coming with clean sheets as the Five Stripes seek to end the season better than it started. Saturday’s 1-0 late night win in Portland was a big step forward as a club, as the summer’s new signings all featured for the first time and emerged on the other side with a hard earned victory.
Alexey Miranchuk’s wonderfully struck goal was the difference maker, but the Five Stripes managed to avoid conceding on any of the Timbers’ 21 shots or 2.30 xG against. The grueling result now puts Atlanta on 26 points, split 13 each at home and on the road, and five points clear of CF Montreal at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Here are the ratings, starting with mine followed by the average rating from our community player ratings form. As a reminder, here’s a look at the rating scale:
- 10 – world-class performance
- 9 – elite performance
- 6 – average
- 5 – slightly below average
- 3 – well below average
- 1 – poor in every level
Lucas Hoyos – Staff rating – 7.5 ; Community rating – 7.27
Hoyos had to be more involved to get this clean sheet, and was up for the task when it mattered, with three saves to his name.
Elías Báez – Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 6.43
An active outing for Báez, who created two chances from the left side in a full 90+ minute shift.
Júnior Alonso – Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 6.91
Kept a clean sheet, but gave up plenty of opportunities to a Portland side that was dominant for the majority of the match. 21 total shots allowed on the night, but some poor finishing saves the Five Stripes and their center backs this time.
Paulo Díaz- Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 7.00
Mirroring above, Díaz wasn’t spectacular, but did do enough to help Atlanta keep a clean sheet out west despite offering Portland 2.30 xG and five big chances allowed.
Tomás Jacob – Staff rating – 6.0 ; Community rating – 6.20
Jacob was able to kickstart an attacking opportunity early on, but didn’t have much time to contribute before being forced out due to a muscle injury in the 32nd minute.
Mauricio Amaro – Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 6.64
Nothing too remarkable for Amaro in his third start in Atlanta’s midfield, where he offered some defensive support but still couldn’t contain a Portland attack that seemed poised to score.
Tristan Muyumba – Staff rating – 6.5 ; Community rating – 6.14
Also called to operate as more of a defensive midfielder, Muyumba earned himself a yellow card as well in the 64th minute before being subbed out in the 82nd.
Giuliano Galoppo – Staff rating – 6.5 ; Community rating – 6.86
Nothing flashy in a debut showing for Galoppo, who went 65 minutes and took one blocked shot in first half stoppage time. He did block a shot himself, only for the wrong team in one of the night’s funnier moments. Hopefully things like that resolve as he acclimates more to his new teammates.
Alexey Miranchuk – Staff rating – 8.5 ; Community rating – 8.09
It was a great night for Alexey Miranchuk, who aside from scoring on a classy feint and curled effort also created four total chances, the most of anyone. It was Miranchuk’s first goal for the club since April, a drought of sixteen appearances finally at an end.
Miguel Almiron – Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 6.77
Another decent outing for Miggy, who seemed to be doing as much work offensively as he was defensively. Almiron nearly covered every inch of turf at Providence Park, taking three shots while adding seven defensive contributions. Nothing that will show up on a box score, but good to see so much involvement from Atlanta’s main man.
Breel Embolo – Staff rating – 6.5 ; Community rating – 6.64
Two big chances and three shots arrived for Atlanta’s spotlight signing of the summer, but none were able to find the net as Embolo still hasn’t scored from open play in his four appearances. Not to say he’s not involved, though, as the striker took 52 touches on the ball and completed 20/22 passes. Embolo certainly can contribute more than scoring goals… but some goals would be nice, too.
Matt Edwards (SUB 32′) – Staff rating – 8.0 ; Community rating – 7.18
What a night for Matt Edwards, who came on unexpectedly in the 32nd minute for the injured Jacob and didn’t look back. Edwards was up against a dangerous looking Kristoffer Velde in Portland’s attack, but was able to restrict him to a handful of blocked attempts after coming on. He had far and away the most action on the defensive side, with 12 total contributions, despite only playing two thirds of the match.
Cooper Sanchez (SUB 65′) – Staff rating – 6.0 ; Community rating – 6.23
Quiet match for Cooper, who only saw 14 touches in his half hour of play, with one blocked shot attempt.
Enea Mihaj (SUB 82′) – Staff rating – 6.5 ; Community rating – 6.45
Coming on at the tail end of the match, Mihaj didn’t see a whole lot of action, but helped see out the clean sheet with a couple clearances and a tackle or two.
Jay Fortune (SUB 82′) – Staff rating – 6.0 ; Community rating – 5.59
Eight whole touches in his short outing, so hard to judge a whole performance for Fortune. Jay did complete all five of his passes as he helped the team cross the finish line and earn three points.
Tata Martino – Staff rating – 7.0 ; Community rating – 7.23
A successful night in Portland for Tata Martino, who had a full roster at his discretion and left with three points on the road. Still, the team as a whole didn’t control the match the way Tata or the fanbase would want to see. Atlanta will still need to improve if they want to keep results like this coming down the home stretch of the season.