It's rare that you get to play anyone in back-to-back matches, but a rivalry back-to-back? Now that's a recipe for some scintillating football.
Atlanta United will get just that against Orlando City SC, with the first of the two matches kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, May 16. The 5-Stripes look to get back to winning ways and carry over their road form from their previous 2 wins against Toronto and Charlotte back in late April.
Latte Lath embracing new responsibilities
Atlanta United's No. 9 spoke during Thursday's media availability as the 5-Stripes prepared in some beautiful Georgia spring weather for their Floridian neighbors. The Ivorian has had his ups and down this season, but a goal against Montréal proved he's making steps in the right direction.
"Of course for a striker, [not scoring] goals are always frustrating but mentality I feel good," Latte Lath said. "I’ve been trying to give a push for the final rush until the World Cup starts. Mentality I feel good so I don't have any pressure or doubt."
Latte Lath has been asked to play a different role than he's accustomed to under Martino. He's dropping back further to help the buildup, relying more on his physicality. He's also serving a key role as an initiator of Atlanta United's defensive press, much to his manager's appreciation.
"I think the things we’re asking him to do like diagonal passes, making attacking runs into space, taking advantage of one-on-one situations, starting the press and pressing the opponent in the buildup, these are things he’s making a point to do," Martino said in Spanish Thursday.
The moments that Latte Lath has succeeded in buildup have been some of the most fluid for Atlanta United this season. Think to the third goal against Philadelphia, where his holdup play kicked off a smooth sequence. His positioning earned him a comfortable goal against Montréal as well, and you can see the striker's understanding of the pieces moving around him growing.
"It’s something new for me as well because, for the last four years I've played, I wasn’t coming back," Latte Lath said. "I’m trying to improve on that side."
His personal progress has coincided with the attack's blossoming in the last 4 matches. The 5-Stripes have scored 8 goals in that stretch after scoring 5 in the previous 6.
"I do think we've improved a lot from how we played," Latte Lath said. "We've tried to play from behind and tried to create chances. I think we won't change how we start play and just keep going and try to [punish opponents] as much as we can."
Opportunity in Orlando
It's a matchup that both sides hate to lose, and things are shaping up to be spicy. Orlando is turning a corner this season, and they've won 3 of their last 4 matches by shootout scores of 4-3. With the aforementioned offensive improvement from Atlanta United's camp, goals could be on the menu Saturday night.
"Orlando City is a team who has the ability to switch their positioning a lot when they’re in the buildup, so that organized disorder can lead to challenges for opponents when they’re trying to understand how to best stop the buildup play," Martino said. "That's something we have to be aware of and the rest of our proposed style of play."
Luke Brennan, one of Atlanta United's forwards, could be a part of that effort, especially given Miguel Almirón's questionable status and the likely need to rotate over the course of the two matches. The Homegrown did say that the back-to-back in short succession doesn't change the team's overall process.
"We train the same, maybe getting closer to the game we do [training] a little different tactical stuff, but we always have the same approach," Brennan said after training Tuesday. "Every day is a day to get better and be the best version of yourself."
The next two matches present quite the test for Martino and his staff, who want to field the best team to compete in both matches to keep up in the league table and advance in the Open Cup. Jacob said the team is well aware time is of the essence, and these two matches are critical for the season's outcome.
"We know that as we continue progressing in the season, the margin for error gets smaller and smaller as we go," Jacob said in Spanish Tuesday, "but [playoffs] is still a goal. We also have the goal of the U.S. Open Cup. We want to go and try and win that tournament as well."
