Atlanta United defeated top seed Inter Miami CF 2-1 in Game 2 of the Round One Best-of-3 series on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Derrick Williams and Xande Silva each found the back of the net to force Game 3 in Fort Lauderdale.
The first clear chance for the home side came in the 25th minute from a corner. Midfielder Saba Lobjanidze played it short to Pedro Amador before he sent it back to Lobjanidze in open space. The Georgian whipped in a cross to the middle of the box for Alexey Miranchuk to get a header on frame but his attempt was blocked. Atlanta regained possession right outside of the penalty area which freed up an opportunity for Amador to loft a pass to the six-yard box to meet the head of Williams, but the defender’s attempt narrowly missed the goal.
Three minutes later, Lobjanidze cut in from the right flank to lay off a pass to Miranchuk, who launched a left-footed strike to the upper corner of the goal from 25-yards out. The attempt forced Miami keeper Drake Callender to dive and make the save.
Miami broke through in the 40th minute on a goal from Hector Martinez. After Brad Guzan collected a stray Miami cross, the keeper ran to the edge of the box to get the ball back in play. However, Guzan’s foot got caught on the pitch during his run up and caused him to drop the ball at the feet of Federico Redondo. The Argentine slid the ball across the edge of the box to Martinez who chipped it over Atlanta’s backline into the open goal.
Atlanta pulled the match level in the 58th minute thanks to a well placed header from Williams. Homegrown midfielder Jay Fortune collected a loose ball following a corner kick before leaving it off for Amador to send in a cross from around 30-yards out. Williams rushed towards goal and sent home a header to the bottom left corner.
With the match still level as the contest approached stoppage time, Atlanta found another chance off a corner kick in the 89th minute. Miranchuk floated the ball to the center of the box, which Daniel Ríos directed to the back post for Lobjanidze. The midfielder did a half turn and volleyed the ball past Callender but his shot rang off the crossbar.
“It felt definitely more positive. When we went down there, they were on top of a lot of the game, but I felt like here we were on top of the game. I don’t remember them having many clear-cut chances.
Atlanta United defender Derrick Williams on the team’s performance
Atlanta found the winner three minutes into stoppage time thanks to Silva. After winning a challenge in the middle of the pitch, Atlanta strung together quick one-time passes through Miami’s midfield, which was capped off by Miranchuk sliding a pass to Silva at the top of the box. The Portugese winger took a touch before ripping a right-footed shot to the upper left corner.
Atlanta United will hit the road for Game 3 which is set for Saturday, Nov. 9 at Chase Stadium with kickoff slated for 8:00 p.m. ET (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Star 94, La Mejor Radio).
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of ATLUTD