Atlanta United Opens Its History in Chattanooga

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United played the first match in club history Saturday afternoon and left Chattanooga with its first win.

The 4-0 victory over Chattanooga FC at Finley Stadium was only a preseason friendly, but it was also the first time Tata Martino put an Atlanta United team on the field. By the end of the afternoon, Atlanta United had its first lineup, its first goals, and its first result.

Atlanta started the match in its red and blacked striped primary kit, then changed at halftime as part of the reveal for its secondary kit. The team came back out after the break in white shirts with red trim and red shorts.

Tito Villalba supplied that goal in the 9th minute. Yamil Asad added another before halftime. Josef Martínez and Andrew Carleton scored after the break as Atlanta controlled the afternoon in front of 12,484 fans.

For an expansion club preparing to make its MLS debut, the result here does not count in the standings. It still gives Atlanta United something it did not have before Saturday. The club has a match in its history now.

1st Half

Tata Martino opened Atlanta United’s first match in a 4-2-3-1.

Alec Kann started in goal. Greg Garza, Leandro González Pirez, Michael Parkhurst, and Tyrone Mears formed the back line. Chris McCann and Jeff Larentowicz started in central midfield, with Miguel Almirón ahead of them. Yamil Asad started on the left, Tito Villalba on the right, and Kenwyne Jones up top.

Chattanooga had the first chance. Luke Winter got behind Atlanta’s back line in the opening minutes and ran into Kann as the play closed down. Winter tried to continue, but he had to leave the match before the fifth minute.

In the 9th minute, Jones headed a ball clear, and Almirón collected it in space. He drove toward Chattanooga’s back line, pulled defenders toward him, and slipped a pass into Villalba’s run. Villalba finished the chance for the first goal in Atlanta United history.

Atlanta kept Chattanooga pinned back after Villalba’s opener. Zobeck had to work behind a back line that spent much of the half facing pressure, and Chattanooga’s best moments came from trying to break out after defending.

In the 36th minute, Asad received the ball near the edge of the box and curled a shot toward the far top corner. Zobeck could not reach it, and Atlanta went into halftime ahead 2-0.

2nd Half

Martino changed most of the team at the half.

Josef Martínez and Carlos Carmona entered near the end of the first half, and Atlanta returned after the break with a changed group. The second-half group included Kyle Reynish, Mikey Ambrose, Anton Walkes, Miles Robinson, Mark Bloom, Kevin Kratz, Julian Gressel, Jacob Peterson, and Andrew Carleton.

Atlanta had the better chances after the break, but Zobeck kept the match at 2-0.

In the 68th minute, Gressel sent a cross into the box, and Martínez finished with a diving header to make it 3-0.

Six minutes later, Carleton scored unassisted and celebrated near the Atlanta supporters at the east end of the stadium.

Atlanta finished with an 18-6 advantage in shots and an 8-2 edge in shots on goal. The final whistle closed the club’s first match as a 4-0 win.

Closing Thoughts

This was the club’s first preseason game, and Martino used it that way. Players needed minutes. Groups needed time together. The staff needed to start building match fitness before the MLS schedule arrived.

The biggest surprise came from the stands. There were 12,484 people at Finley Stadium for a February friendly between Chattanooga FC and an MLS expansion team still weeks from its league debut.

That is not normal. Not for a preseason game. Not for a first public runout. Not for a team still waiting to play its first MLS match.

The four goals gave Atlanta United a clean first preseason afternoon, but the crowd may be the bigger story. Something is building around this club, and Saturday offered the first real glimpse of it. If that follows Atlanta United back home, March 5 may feel less like an expansion debut and more like the start of something much, much larger.