Atlanta United played to a 1-1 draw on the road against Orlando City SC Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. After falling behind in the first half, Homegrown midfielder Jay Fortune scored late in the second half to secure a point. The two sides will meet again on Tuesday night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal in Orlando.
Without a doubt, the most important player on this Atlanta United roster is Jay Fortune. Having survived multiple coaching changes and entire roster upheavals, he’s returned from a serious injury better than ever and in the form of his life. The upside to him is limitless. At 22 years old, he hasn’t even reached his peak.
“I feel good. I can’t complain right now. Coming back from the injury, knowing after the injury happened, no one knew where I would be or how I would respond to it. Luckily, everything is starting to move in the right direction,” said the Homegrown midfielder.
“As I talk with my Dad and people around me, they still believe there is more for me to tap into. So for right now, I’m just going to continue to flow with things. The person I’m not is one that thinks I’ve made it or peaked or anything like that. I just want to get better, day by day, game by game, and I just want to see what I’m able to do in this game.”
Fortune scored his second goal of the season and has scored in two consecutive MLS matches for the first time in his career. The midfielder also created a career-high 5 chances.
After a back-and-forth opening stretch of the match, Orlando took the lead in the 18th minute through Griffin Dorsey. Martin Ojeda played a through ball into the left side of the box for Ivan Angulo, who sprinted towards the end line before cutting a pass across goal that Dorsey finished into the back net.
As Atlanta continued to put pressure on Orlando’s defense in the closing minutes of the match, it was Trinidadian international Jay Fortune who delivered the breakthrough goal in the 86th minute. Matt Edwards received a pass near the corner flag on the right wing and beat his defender, which allowed him to find Fortune alone inside the box. The Homegrown midfielder took the shot in stride and curled a perfectly placed strike inside the far post.
Atlanta United (3-8-2, 11 points) returns to action Tuesday, May 19, when it faces Orlando City SC again in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup (7:30 p.m. ET, Paramount+, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). After that, they’ll play their last regular-season match before the World Cup break against the Columbus Crew on Sunday, May 24, at 8:00 pm. All Atlanta United MLS matches are available on Apple TV.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of ATL UTD