Atlanta United Falls Short at RFK

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United went to RFK Stadium on Wednesday night for a midweek MLS regular-season match against D.C. United and left with a 2-1 loss. The match kicked off at 7:38 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

It was Atlanta’s second meeting with DC United in its expansion season, and the second time D.C. found a way to turn Atlanta’s attacking momentum into a result of its own. Atlanta scored first through Julian Gressel, created enough late pressure to keep the match alive, and still walked off with nothing after Bill Hamid pushed away Martínez’s final free kick.

Carlos Carmona’s suspension forced one change in Tata Martino’s midfield. Kevin Kratz started next to Jeff Larentowicz, with Miguel Almirón ahead of them and Gressel, Yamil Asad, and Héctor Villalba across the front line.

1st Half

José Guillermo Ortiz kicked off for DC, and the hosts had the first spell of pressure, but Atlanta struck first in the 16th minute.

The move came from the left via Yamil Asad. He played the ball behind DC’s back line for Almirón, who reached the byline and sent it across goal. Gressel arrived in front of goal and finished into an open net to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead.

DC answered six minutes later. Atlanta tried to play out from the back, but Alec Kann’s clearance was intercepted by Luciano Acosta. Acosta took the chance himself and put his shot in off the inside of the post to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute.

The half ended there. Atlanta had opened the match with the cleaner attacking sequence, DC had punished the lone mistake, and the teams went into halftime level at 1-1.

2nd Half

The match resumed with Atlanta needing to rebuild from a first half that had given it both the lead and the mistake that erased it.

In the 59th minute, Patrick Nyarko skipped a volley past Alec Kann and inside the far post, and gave DC the lead.

Ben Olsen made the first adjustment a minute later, replacing José Guillermo Ortiz with Deshorn Brown. Jeff Larentowicz was booked in the 61st. A minute later, Tata Martino brought on Josef Martínez for Gressel, adding his striker with Atlanta trailing 2-1.

D.C. took its goal scorer nine minutes after his goal, and brought on Lamar Neagle. he was booked a few minutes later.

Atlanta made two changes in the 74th minute. Brandon Vázquez replaced Villalba, and Chris McCann replaced Larentowicz. Vázquez was booked four minutes later.

Olsen used his final change in the 80th minute, sending Jared Jeffrey on for Acosta. The score stayed 2-1 into stoppage time.

Atlanta’s last chance came from Martínez with the final kick of the game. He hit a free kick toward the far corner, but Hamid was just able to get his fingertips to it.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta’s best work came through possession and width. It completed more passes than D.C. United, sent in 19 crosses, and kept building through Almirón, Asad, Garza, Kratz, and Mears. Almirón had the assist on Gressel’s opener. Asad finished with four shots, two on target, and the second assist on the goal.

Atlanta’s possession and width created pressure, but not enough finished chances. D.C. United produced more total shots, got six of them from Nyarko, and turned two of its four shots on target into goals.

Atlanta’s back line spent much of the night cleaning up danger. Parkhurst had nine clearances, González Pírez had seven, and Mears had five. At the other end, Hamid had the heavier goalkeeping night and made four saves, including the one on Martínez with the final kick.

Atlanta left with a narrow loss. They had plenty of the ball, but too many attacks ended without a clean shot.