ATLUTD2 Climbs Back Above Playoff Line With 2-1 Win Over Chicago

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United 2 ended its three-match losing streak Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC II at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground. The win moved Atlanta past Chicago and back above the Eastern Conference playoff line.

Chicago came to Marietta two points ahead of Atlanta after winning five of its previous six matches. Atlanta had won both earlier meetings between the teams, giving the Five Stripes an opportunity to climb back into a playoff position and complete a sweep of the three-game season series.

Head coach José Silva made three changes from Friday’s 2-1 loss to Red Bull New York II, bringing Daniel Chica, DD Sibrian and Santiago Pita into the starting lineup. Arif Kovac broke the scoreless tie with his 16th goal of the season, matching the Atlanta United 2 single-season record, before Enzo Dovlo added his fifth of the year and third in four matches.

Chicago was able to get one back late when Brody Williams cut Atlanta’s lead to one in the 92nd minute.

Dovlo and Chicago’s Damian Nigg received straight red cards following a confrontation in the 93rd minute. Atlanta held on through the remaining stoppage time to complete the first three-game season-series sweep of its MLS NEXT Pro era.

1st Half

Neither team found a clear path to goal during the opening minutes. Ransom came outside his penalty area to clear one early Chicago ball, while Villanueva’s pressure forced Atlanta backwards on another possession.

Atlanta took the first shot in the 8th minute when Chong Qui found Pita in the middle of the box, but Pita’s first-time effort went over the crossbar. Pineda answered from distance four minutes later and sent Chicago’s first attempt wide of the right post.

Atlanta created the first sustained danger in the 20th minute. Dovlo broke into space on the right and waited for Dunbar’s run through the middle before cutting the ball back into the box. Dunbar reached it near the penalty spot, but Chicago blocked both of his attempts.

Chicago began testing Ransom from distance as the half approached the half-hour mark. The Atlanta goalkeeper saved Diawara’s central effort and denied Villanueva minutes later.

Atlanta came within inches of taking the lead when Dunbar won the ball in Chicago’s half and played it into Arif Kovac near the top of the box. Kovac turned and lifted his shot over Nemo, only for it to strike the underside of the crossbar and bounce down without crossing the line. Pita reached the rebound from the right, but Nemo recovered to block the follow-up.

Atlanta took the lead with a sequence of first-time passes between Chong Qui, Pita, Kovac and Dunbar. Chong Qui found Pita approximately 20 yards from goal, and Pita lifted the ball towards Kovac at the top of the box. Kovac reached back with his right foot and flicked it out of the air into Dunbar’s run behind the defense. Dunbar carried the ball to the goal line and cut it back to Kovac, who had continued into the box and finished first time with his left foot at the near post.

DD Sibrian found Chong Qui outside the box in the 36th minute, and Borso blocked his left-footed shot behind for Atlanta’s first corner. Jardines delivered the corner into a crowded penalty area, where Senanou reached the ball before it eventually fell to Chong Qui for another attempt that Borso blocked. Chicago cleared the danger and broke forward with three attackers against two defenders. Diawara had runners available on either side but chose to shoot from distance, sending the ball over the crossbar.

Jardines received the ball in the middle of the attacking third and found Dovlo on the right wing in the 39th minute. Dovlo cut inside two defenders and carried the ball from right to left across the top of the box before rifling a left-footed shot into the upper far corner. The goal was his fifth of the season and third in four matches, giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead.

Pita nearly added another during first-half stoppage time with a free kick from approximately 20 yards. His left-footed shot curled around the wall towards the bottom-left corner, leaving Nemo to react after his view had initially been blocked. Nemo pushed the ball away at the near post, then recovered to save Dunbar’s follow-up after Dunbar moved around Borso to reach the rebound.

Jardines delivered one final corner in the 3rd minute of stoppage, but Chong Qui headed it over the crossbar. Atlanta went into halftime with its two-goal lead.

2nd Half

Chicago made one change at the half, bringing on Dean Boltz for Vitaliy Hlyut.

Dunbar found Dovlo in front of the box in the 49th minute, and Nemo caught Dovlo’s left-footed shot. Jardines then picked out Chong Qui from a corner six minutes later, but his header passed wide of the right post.

Chicago began committing more players forward and produced its first dangerous attack of the half in the 57th minute. Fleming played the ball to Borso on the right side of the box. Borso cut inside Dunbar and struck a low left-footed shot, which Ransom smothered.

Silva made Atlanta’s first change in the 61st minute, replacing Pita with Ignacio Suarez-Couri.

Diawara found Boltz on the right side of the penalty area in the 66th minute, but Ransom saved his shot. One minute later, Fleming took a heavy touch near his own penalty area, and the ball rolled to Kovac. Kovac passed to an unmarked Jardines approximately 12 yards from goal, but Nemo blocked the shot.

Diawara tested Ransom again in the 73rd minute with a shot from outside the box. Ransom briefly lost control of the ball before gathering it. Nigg shot from the left side outside the penalty area one minute later. Majub blocked the attempt, and the ball went over the goal line to give Chicago its first corner.

Nigg shot from the left side outside the penalty area, but Majub blocked the attempt and sent the ball over the goal line. Nigg took the corner, delivering the ball towards the back post. Sandmeyer headed it against the upright. Atlanta cleared the loose ball before the AR raised the flag calling Sandmeyer offside.

Brody Williams replaced Villanueva as Chicago added another attacker for the final 15 minutes. Silva responded by replacing Sibrian and Jardines with Damola Browne and Seyi Fakiyesi.

Suarez-Couri received the first yellow card of the match in the 80th minute after a rough foul on Nagle.

Chicago continued sending the ball into Atlanta’s penalty area as the match approached stoppage time. In the 88th minute, Sandmeyer headed Pineda’s corner back across goal, and Chong Qui blocked Nagle’s header. Williams recovered the ball and passed it to Fleming, who sent Chicago’s final attempt of the sequence wide.

Atlanta had a chance to make it 3-0 late, but Nemo saved a Kovac shot. Instead, Chicago scored on its next attack. Nagle passed to Fleming on the left. Fleming then sent a diagonal ball through Atlanta’s defense to Williams on the right side of the box. Williams was alone against Ransom and drove his shot across the goalkeeper into the bottom-left corner in the 92nd minute.

The restart was delayed as Dovlo and Pineda exchanged words near midfield. Nigg and several other players joined in, and the argument turned into shoving as players gathered around. Referee Del Toro showed straight red cards to both Dovlo and Nigg, reducing each team to 10.

Chicago sent the ball back into Atlanta’s penalty area after play resumed, but Nagle’s delivery sailed over Boltz. Dunbar cleared the ball towards the opposite end, only for Chicago to recover it and attack again. Borso sent another ball into the box, and Dunbar cleared it once more. Chicago regained possession for one final attempt, but Borso’s delivery went out of play and Del Toro blew the final whistle.

Closing Thoughts

Chicago finished with a 19-18 advantage in shots after directing most of its pressure towards Atlanta during the second half. Atlanta placed eight attempts on target to Chicago’s six, while Nemo made six saves and Ransom recorded five.

Kovac’s goal moved him level with Nick Firmino’s Atlanta United 2 single-season record of 16, set in 2023. Dunbar assisted both goals to reach nine for the season, extending the club record and moving into sole possession of the MLS NEXT Pro lead.

Dovlo’s fifth goal of the season was his third in four matches. Jardines recorded his third assist, while Atlanta completed its first three-match season-series sweep since joining MLS NEXT Pro in 2023.

The victory improved Atlanta to 11-8-4 with 37 points and moved it back into a playoff position with five matches remaining. It also ended a three-match losing streak to Carolina Core, Chattanooga FC, and Red Bull New York II.

Atlanta returns to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground on Saturday, Aug. 22 to face Orlando City B at 1 pm. Orlando sits ninth with 35 points, two behind seventh-place Atlanta.