STARTING XI: Brad Guzan; Greg Garza, Leandro Gonázlez Pirez, Michael Parkhurst (C), Anton Walkes (Julian Gressel – 65’); Jeff Larentowicz, Carlos Carmona; Yamil Asad (Chris McCann – 81’), Miguel Almirón, Tito Villalba (Brandon Vazquez—68’); Josef Martinez.
Atlanta United lost to D.C. United 1-0 on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium. The loss snapped the club’s six-game unbeaten streak. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan made a season-high six saves.
“Very good first 30 minutes, but after the goal, we were a team that had a lot of the ball but predictable,” Tata Martino said. “We were unable to generate chances on goal in proportion to the amount of time we had the ball.”
Atlanta out-possessed (65-35) and outshot (15-13) D.C. United but was unable to get on the scoreboard. Miguel ‘Miggy’ Almirón, Josef Martinez, and Julian Gressel led the team with three attempted shots each.
It was a shame the five stripes couldn’t pull off the away win. D.C. United should not have had their number this season, as each matchup showed self-destruction of the count of United. Tonight, that came in the form of an own goal by captain Michael Parkhurst.
From the first whistle to around the 25′, Atlanta United controlled every aspect of the match. Miggy showed tremendous pace while Yamil Asad and Tito Villalba held their own on the wings. As much as they tried they couldn’t get Martinez in the game like they wanted to. Their best chance came in stoppage time as Brandon Vazquez sent a cross into the box for Martinez but, the forward just narrowly missed the ball with his diving effort. It was a sad outing for the squad as Tata put forth arguably his strongest starting XI this season.
Atlanta (10-8-5, 35 points) returns to action Saturday to play Philadelphia Union (8-12-6, 30 points) at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised on FOX Sports Southeast.
STATS
Shots: 15-13 Atlanta
Shots on Target: 6-2 D.C.
Corner kicks: 8-4 Atlanta
Fouls committed: 15-13 Atlanta
Saves: 6-2 Atlanta
Clearances: 19-14 D.C.
Offside: 3-2 D.C.
Possession: 65-35 Atlanta
Passing Accuracy: 82-69 Atlanta
-Jon J.
Photo: Courtesy of ATLUTD