Atlanta United suffered a tough 2-1 loss at home against CF Montréal Wednesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Former Atlanta United legend Josef Martinez put two past his former club while Daniel Ríos scored his seventh goal of the season for the Five Stripes. Former Atlanta United Homegrown George Campbell took the pitch for the Impact as well.
Alexey Miranchuk had an opportunity on goal early in the first half after taking a free kick. He connected soon after with Saba Lobjanidze after chipping a ball into the box behind Montréal’s backline. Saba took a chance but it missed just left of the post.
Josef Martinez scored for the visitors in the 43rd minute. He found the end of a free kick inside of Atlanta’s 18-yard box after chesting it down. A quick scan of his surroundings saw no open men, so he took it himself and fired a shot into the top-left corner. Still a popular figure with the Atlanta supporters, he opted not to celebrate.
Daniel Ríos brought the game level just before halftime. Pedro Amador sent a cross to the far post where Ríos outclassed his defender for the header and sent the ball into the bottom left corner.
Missing a lot of chances. Missing goals. Like I said before, goals change games. Yeah, it just hurts.”
Atlanta United defender Derrick Williams summation of the season
Josef Martinez came back again to haunt his former club and take the lead. Tom Pearce sent a low cross to the near post where Martinez was making a break. With the ball just ahead of him and at a tight angle, the Venezuelan slid into the play with a gorgeous toe-poke that sailed the ball into the back of the net. Again, he opted not to celebrate.
Before the post-game press conference began, interim head coach Rob Valentino spoke on behalf of the Atlanta United locker room about the passing of former Atlanta United 2 player Modou Jadama. “Before we start, I want to offer my condolences to [Modou Jadama’s] family. Tragic passing of him. I know they are all probably hurting, and people within in our Club and within the soccer community are probably hurting as well, so before we get to the game, I just want to make sure I’ve said that. We are all praying for his family and thinking of them.”
Atlanta United tried their best to get back into the match and salvage a point but Montréal were just too much. After tonight’s loss, Atlanta United now sit at 34 points (8-14-10) with just eight wins on the season. They’ll collect themselves and continue this Saturday, Oct. 5, when they host New York Red Bulls at 7:30 PM on MLS Season Pass.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATL UTD