Mears Rescues Atlanta with a Stoppage-Time Header

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United had played just three days earlier, flying home from Washington after a flat 1-0 loss to D.C. United. The players had little more than a day to recover before leaving again for Philadelphia, leaving Tata Martino almost no time to make meaningful tactical changes on the training field. Any response at Talen Energy Stadium would have to come from the players.

The Five Stripes had entered the two-match road trip hoping to strengthen their place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. A 1-0 defeat to D.C. United had instead exposed an attack that struggled when opponents bunkered. Philadelphia Union are setup to play in much the same fashion, keeping his back line and midfield close together while C.J. Sapong pressured Atlanta’s defenders from the front.

Atlanta showed more energy than it had at RFK Stadium. It also fell two goals behind within 23 minutes.

Roland Alberg and Alejandro Bedoya punished Atlanta’s early defensive mistakes. Yamil Asad answered before halftime, and Josh Yaro’s second-half red card left Philadelphia down to 10. Atlanta pushed nearly everyone forward, but the equalizer did not arrive until Tyrone Mears - a veteran fullback who had spent much of the summer on the bench - looped a header into the net in stoppage time.

For the night, coming back from two goals down gave Atlanta something to carry forward. Over the full road trip, the result was harder to celebrate. The Five Stripes had conceded twice early in Philadelphia and taken only one point from matches against D.C. United and the Union.

1st Half

Philadelphia packed itself in from the opening whistle, keeping its defensive lines close which forced Atlanta to move the ball around the outside. Sapong battled Leandro González Pírez and Jeff Larentowicz while Alberg, Bedoya and Haris Medunjanin crowded the spaces where Almirón wanted the ball.

Atlanta found occasional openings when Almirón dropped into midfield or Josef Martínez could get open. Philadelphia’s bent out of shape when the ball changed sides, but Atlanta could not do much once it got to the final 3rd.

Tito Villalba failed to clear an awkward ball in the 18th minute, and it looped towards Giliano Wijnaldum about 25 yards from goal. Villalba did not close him down, giving the Philadelphia left back time to volley the ball over Atlanta’s defensive line. Roland Alberg ran onto the pass, controlled it with his chest and slid a shot past Brad Guzan to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.

Alberg delivered a corner in the 23rd minute, and Jack Elliott flicked it across the face of goal. Alejandro Bedoya threw himself into the air and struck a bike back across goal, beating Brad Guzan from six yards. Bedoya landed, climbed back to his feet and joined his teammates near the corner as Talen Energy Stadium erupted around them.

Philadelphia led 2-0 on two superb finishes.

Atlanta didn’t collapse, it struck back two minutes later.

A short corner went to Greg Garza about 20 yards from goal. He drove a cross into the middle of the box, where Josef Martínez rose between defenders and hit a header back across goal. Asad charged onto it. He took one touch from a tight angle and hammered a right-footed shot into the roof of Andre Blake’s net. This play earned Martínez his first assist of the season.

Neither side added another before halftime. Philadelphia carried a 2-1 lead into the break after scoring twice in five minutes, while Atlanta had at least given itself a way back into the match.

2nd Half

Martínez broke through Philadelphia’s back line early in the second half.

A pass split Yaro and Elliott, and Martínez took it in stride with open field ahead of him. Yaro chased from behind and dragged him down just outside the penalty area before he could reach Blake. Drew Fischer showed Yaro a straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Philadelphia went down to 10 men with nearly 40 minutes left to play.

Philadelphia answered the red card with a defensive change, replacing Alberg with Richie Marquez and dropping into a bunker to protect the lead. Atlanta brought on Julian Gressel for Michael Parkhurst. The Five Stripes shifted to three at the back and added another attacking option.

Atlanta kept attacking from the wings. Garza sent crosses in from the left, Walkes pushed forward on the right, and Philadelphia crowded the penalty area to block shots and clear the service before Atlanta could finish.

Martino made his final two changes in the 75th minute. Jacob Peterson replaced Villalba, while Tyrone Mears came on for Walkes. Atlanta was looking for new ways to break down the bunker. Mears stayed high on the right and joined each Atlanta attack. Garza did the same on the opposite side.

Four minutes of stoppage was added with Philadelphia still leading 2-1. Atlanta had spent most of the second half pressing against 10 men, but the road trip was still heading towards another loss.

Garza sent another cross into the box from the left. Andre Blake came off his line and punched it away, but only as far as the top of the box.

Tyrone Mears beat his marker to it and threw himself forward, looping a diving header back towards goal from about 15 yards. Blake scrambled backwards towards goal, but the ball sailed over him and dropped into the net.

Atlanta had its equalizer in stoppage time, and Mears had his first goal of the season.

The Five Stripes kept pressing for another chance during the remaining minutes, but Philadelphia held on for the 2-2 draw.

Closing Thoughts

Atlanta finished with 18 shots, five on target and seven corner kicks. Philadelphia attempted 13 shots and put six on target despite playing the final 38 minutes with 10 men. Guzan made four saves, while Blake made three.

The point came with relief, but little satisfaction. Atlanta had needed a stoppage-time goal to avoid a second loss in four days and left the road trip with one point from two matches. The comeback offered evidence of the group’s resilience. Falling behind by two goals so early leaves a more troubling impression.

Atlanta’s attackers did not score. Martínez’s movement produced Atlanta’s first goal and Yaro’s red card.

The 34-year-old Mears had lost his starting place to Walkes and entered the match with limited minutes. Martino asked him to attack.

Philadelphia looked sharp before the red card. Alberg and Bedoya produced two superb finishes, and neither gave Guzan much chance. Once ahead, the Union dropped deep and protected the lead with discipline.

Yaro’s dismissal undid much of that work. Philadelphia spent the rest of the match defending its own penalty area and came within stoppage time of seeing it through. Mears’ header turned a win into a draw and cost the Union two points.

“You can’t always choose when you score goals,” Martino said afterward. “They are fighting all game.”

The draw moves Atlanta to 10-8-6 into the Eastern Conference’s sixth and final playoff position.