MATTHEWS, N.C. (April 3, 2026) - Atlanta United 2 sustained a 2-0 defeat to Crown Legacy FC on Friday at Sportsplex at Matthews. Patrick Weah returned from injury to make his 2026 season debut, but ATL UTD 2 dropped its second consecutive fixture against Crown Legacy.
The action started off in the first minute in Matthews when Crown Legacy midfielder Daniel Longo put in a low cross from the right side of the box, which took a deflection off D.D. Sibrian and ended up at the feet of center forward Hugo Mbongue, who slotted the ball home from the near post.
With ATL UTD 2 already trailing, Crown Legacy continued to attack the Atlanta goal with quality chances for the next 10 minutes, including a curled shot from the left foot of right winger Nathan Richmond that careened off Jonathan Ransom’s far post in the 6th minute.
In the 18th minute, a second shot hit the ATL UTD 2 post when center back Andrew Johnson connected with a header that was whipped in from a corner, but the rebound was cleared away by Daniel Chica.
Atlanta remained under pressure for the rest of the half, with 5-Stripes defenders coming up with multiple key blocks to deny further shots on target.
The second half played out similarly to the first. In the 50th minute, Richmond whipped in a lofted cross from a corner, which met the head of center back Henry Kessler, whose glancing flick guided the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, extending the Crown Legacy lead.
In the 76th minute, Cameron Dunbar was presented with a free kick opportunity from the top of the box on the left side. The effort was struck well, but curled just over the Crown Legacy goal and out of play.
In the 89th minute, Moises Tablante lofted a ball into the box from a free kick near the halfway line. Mohamed Cisset rose to the air to meet it with his head, but the ensuing shot went wide to the right of the goal.
The last three minutes of the match were eventful, as center back Assane Ouedraogo pulled back the ATL UTD 2 attack, marking his second yellow card infraction and earning him a red card in the 93rd minute. Just two minutes later, center forward Rodolfo Aloko was through on goal with a 1-on-1 against Ransom, but Ransom was able to get down quickly and block the shot with his leg to keep the final score at 2-0.
Atlanta United 2 (2-2-1, 7 points) returns to action Friday, April 10, when it travels to Miami to face Inter Miami CF II at Inter Miami CF Stadium (7 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here).
