Atlanta United fell to Philadelphia Union 3-2 Wednesday night at Subaru Park. Thiago Almada and Edwin Mosquera tallied second-half goals to bring Atlanta back in the match as Gonzalo Pineda’s side continued to push for the equalizing goal into the final minutes of the match. Almada scored his 11th goal of the season while Mosquera added his third goal and second in as many games.
Scoreless through the first half hour, Philadelphia broke through in the 39th minute from Daniel Gazdag. Off a quick restart from the Union, an attempted shot ricochetted off a defender and ultimately fell to Gazdag, who was on the edge of the six-yard box. Gazdag deftly finished an overhead kick to give Philadelphia the lead.
The Union added a pair of goals before halftime with Mikael Uhre scoring in the 41st minute followed by Julián Carranza in stoppage time. Uhre started the play by holding up a ball in possession on a quick counterattack. Carranza found him inside the box where Uhre finished to the far post to make it 2-0. Carranza then added the third off a combination with Gazdag that found the Argentine forward in alone on goal from about eight yards out.
Atlanta quickly pulled a goal back in the second half through Almada in the 56th minute from the penalty spot. Play originally went on after an Atlanta corner kick in the 52nd minute appeared to glance off Carranza’s hand. The play went to video review where a penalty was ultimately awarded to Atlanta. Almada calmly stepped up and slotted to Andre Blake’s right to get Atlanta on the board.
Pineda then made a plethora of attacking subs, bringing on Mosquera and Jay Fortune in the 66th minute, followed by Jamal Thiare and Derrick Etienne Jr. in the 73rd minute. The team responded by getting a second goal in the 77th minute from Mosquera. Following chaos inside Philadelphia’s penalty area, Tristan Muyumba calmly gained possession and found a wide-open Mosquera who blistered a shot through traffic to bring Atlanta within a goal.
Atlanta continued to search for an equalizing goal in the game’s final minutes with the best chance coming from a cross from the right wing that Thiare headed just over the crossbar from close range.
Atlanta United (13-10-10, 49 points) returns to action Saturday, Oct. 7 when it hosts Columbus Crew at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 7:30 p.m ET (MLS Season Pass, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app.