Gearing up to return to MLS play from an unprecedented break takes some sweat. Especially on a humid Georgia morning in July.
But the 5-Stripes showed they're getting their legs back, playing to a 3-2 win over visiting Sporting Kansas City at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground Thursday morning. The match, played in three 30-minute periods, featured a near-full-strength Atlanta United lineup for the first two periods and a line swap of young First Team players and Atlanta United 2 faces for the final.
Lineups by period
First period:
Lucas Hoyos, Tomás Jacob, Stian Gregersen, Enea Mihaj, Pedro Amador, Tristan Muyumba, Cooper Sanchez, Jay Fortune, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Fafa Picault, Alexey Miranchuk
Second period:
Lucas Hoyos, Tomás Jacob, Stian Gregersen, Enea Mihaj, Pedro Amador, Tristan Muyumba, Cooper Sanchez, Jay Fortune, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Fafa Picault, Alexey Miranchuk
Substitute: Elías Báez for Pedro Amador
Third period:
Lucas Hoyos, Matt Edwards, Ronald Hernández, Toto Majub, Elías Báez, Ignacio Suarez-Couri, Cameron Dunbar, Will Reilly, Andrew Jardines, Luke Brennan, Cayman Togashi
Scoring recap
Kansas City scored a penalty in the 14th minute, but Jay Fortune fired back with a lovely equalizer from outside the box. Emmanuel Latte Lath picked up the assist by laying the ball off to the Homegrown midfielder, who put his first-time strike in the top right corner.
Three minutes later, Cooper Sanchez showed great determination to grab a second. He found the ball inside the box and survived a tackle, picking the ball up again and using the outside of his boot to finish the second goal of the day for the 5-Stripes.
After Kansas City equalized nine minutes into the second period, Cameron Dunbar closed things out in the 24th minute of the third period with a curling finish from a Luke Brennan cross.
Quick hitters and club updates from Chris Henderson and Tata Martino
Atlanta United came out with a starting XI of mostly starters, looking to reestablish the connections and positive tendencies from the first 14 matches of the MLS regular season. At the same time, head coach Tata Martino and his coaching staff were taking the time to experiment with new solutions to the problems the 5-Stripes have faced so far.
Latte Lath started on the right side of the attack, with Alexey Miranchuk operating as a deeper-lying No. 9. It's a change that Martino said Latte Lath himself pitched earlier on in the season. The friendly was a perfect opportunity to test it, and there were some early signs it might be a useful tool. Latte Lath and Fafa Picault played with significant width on the wings, freeing up space in the middle of the park for the likes of Miranchuk, Sanchez, Fortune and more.
"That’s what happens, not only when you have two wingers, but also when you have a center forward who drops deeper," Martino said in Spanish after the friendly match. "He creates space for the diagonal runs of the wingers and the interior midfielders."
Aside from tactical wrinkles, Martino called on his side to show a different level of competitive nature in the latter half of the season.
"We need to improve in the group aspect, the team’s leadership," Martino said. "On the field, [we need] to build a squad that’s capable of competing. And when I say competing, I don’t just mean in the matches. I mean here in training, where for each player it should be difficult to win a place in the starting eleven. We have to recover the competitiveness from each and every training session."
That's where Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson will be able to help — by bringing new players into the fold to introduce more competition across the squad. Atlanta United's Sporting Director spoke to media during the match about he and his staff's plans for transactions during the Secondary Transfer Window.
"Behind the scenes, we're all working on the options that we're going to bring in," Henderson said. "... I could see somewhere between three and five acquisitions in this summer window."
Henderson didn't rule out any avenues, whether new players would come from trades or transfers. He did emphasize, however, that getting the club back into winning form will take a full squad effort — not just the addition of transfers.
"We want to build on what we've done with some of the young players," Henderson said. "We have 20 games going into the back two-thirds of the season, almost. [There are] enough points out there. It's about getting the right players in, working with the players that are here, continuing to develop those players and maximizing the rest of the roster."
Rejoining the 5-Stripes after contributing to a historic World Cup campaign by Paraguay, Miguel Almirón is back in Atlanta. According to Martino, the Atlanta United's number 10 is working with physios before rejoining the team in full training.
As the world's tournament continues on through the quarterfinals, Atlanta United will be preparing for their first match back, one that will take place just before the World Cup final. The 5-Stripes face Nashville SC Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. ET. A challenging rivalry fixture provides a prime opportunity to restart the season with energy and build momentum for a playoff push.
"What’s left for us is to improve," Martino said. "We’ve tried and we’ve worked a lot so that the team can improve, make up ground and have a chance to fight for a playoff spot. We still have the same belief we had on the first day regarding what this team can be."
