Atlanta United hosted regional rival Orlando City SC on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In what was, as it always is, an intense and tightly contested match between the Eastern Conference foes, the two sides scored within minutes of each other but Orlando City found the game-winner in the second half to defeat the 5-Stripes 2-1.
"We faced a great Orlando team. I want to give them credit, they did a good job," Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda said. "I think it was an even game. Moments when we had the ball, we were dangerous. When they had the ball, they were dangerous. Little details to me were the difference."
Atlanta United opened the scoring with Caleb Wiley's fourth goal of the season. A loose ball made its way centrally, and Miguel Berry didn’t give up on it. He gained control, turned toward goal and scooped a pass through Orlando City’s backline to Machop Chol making a run. Chol took a first-time shot with his right foot, a slow roller that nearly dribbled over the goal line before an Orlando City defender slid to stop it. But Wiley was in the right spot on the far post to knock home the rebound and give Atlanta United the 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
Wiley is now tied with fellow Homegrown Tyler Wolff for third-most goals on the team this season.
Orlando City would answer on a set piece minutes later. The Lions won a free kick on the left wing. Orlando City captain Mauricio Pereyra took the kick and whipped a ball into the box. The header from defender Antônio Carlos flew into the upper corner, past a diving Brad Guzan, to even the match 1-1 in the 25th minute.
The visitors earned their first lead of the match and the eventual game-winner in the 60th minute. Duncan McGuire made a run and got in behind Atlanta United’s backline. Pereyra fed him a through ball and in a 1v1 situation with Guzan, the Orlando City attacker buried the shot with his right foot from the center of the box.
"In a play where our backline was disorganized or not cohesive. It was all over the place in some moments, not high enough and a lot of space in between the lines, and then a little discoordination there in the middle of the backline, and then they get the second goal. After that, we chased the game," Pineda said.
Guzan was active throughout the night, starting from the opening minutes. Orlando City SC created a dangerous opportunity with some quick passes and a give-and-go that brought the ball inside the 18-yard box. Guzan came off his line to prevent the shot from Pereyra and Atlanta United was able to clear the ball away. The play was Guzan’s first save of the night. Guzan would make his second save in the eighth minute.
Giorgos Giakoumakis entered the match as a substitute in the 70th minute. The striker provided an instant spark as Atlanta United played from behind. Just after Giakoumakis came on the pitch, Derrick Etienne Jr., who came on in the 31st minute for Chol, fed him a nice ball with the outside of his foot that nearly set up the equalizer. However, Orlando City recovered before Giakoumakis could get off a shot.
In the final moments of the match, Thiago Almada nearly blew the roof off Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Late in second half stoppage time, the midfielder drew a foul and earned a direct free kick from about 30 yards out. Almada, one of the best free kick takers in the league who has scored from that range before, put another well-hit strike on frame. However, Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made a leaping save to stop Almada's shot and secure three points for the visiting team.
"It's football. Sometimes you win some games, you lose some games," midfielder Amar Sejdić said. "You have to take a step back, kind of learn from how we played and the formation that we ran and get an understanding of each position and what individually we could do better to help the team collectively."
Head coach Gonzalo Pineda went with the same starters he used in Atlanta's previous match with one exception. Chol earned a spot in the starting XI for Atlanta United. The Homegrown scored Atlanta's lone goal in the 2-1 loss to New England, his second goal of the season. Pineda started the same three center backs -- Ronald Hernández, Juanjo Purata and Luis Abram -- he's been using the past few matches.
"This is football, we have to look forward and we have to look at the film, see what we do well and what mistakes we did, we have to improve them," Purata said. "We have 10 days for our revenge. We want to do a great job in Leagues Cup. That's the mindset."
Miles Robinson was available off the bench for Atlanta United after being away from the club for the past month on international duty with the United States men's national team. With the U.S. falling to Panama in the semifinals of the Gold Cup Wednesday night in San Diego, Robinson was able to return to the club late this week.
Up next - MLS All-Star, then Leagues Cup and Lionel Messi
Atlanta United will get a week off as the league heads into MLS All-Star Week. Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis from Atlanta United were named MLS All-Stars. The All-Star match takes place Wednesday, July 19 and will feature the MLS All-Stars taking on Arsenal FC from the English Premier League. Almada will also participate in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge on Tuesday night.
Then, Atlanta United heads into the all-new Leagues Cup competition, a tournament that features clubs from Liga MX and MLS. Atlanta's opening match of Leagues Cup is against none other than Inter Miami CF and newly acquired superstar Lionel Messi. The teams kick off on Tuesday, July 25 at DRV PNK Stadium. Learn more about Leagues Cup and Atlanta United's opportunity to contend for the best club in North America
