ATLUTD Starts Fast, Then Falls Apart Against Orlando

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United returned home Wednesday night after a comeback draw against Inter Miami that ended in a flurry of excitement and gave the team an emotional lift. Atlanta would have to try to carry that forward against Orlando City with a midfield that was already stretched thin.

Cooper Sanchez was in concussion protocol, although he was still at the stadium for a Chick-fil-A corporate meet-and-greet before the match. Having him in the stadium and performing team functions is an encouraging sight. Steven Alzate was out with illness, Giuliano Galoppo remained unavailable as he waited for his visa, and Atlanta made no additional call-ups. That left Adrian Gill and Will Reilly as the only midfielders on the bench.

Jay Fortune returned to the starting lineup after his injury absence, and a full 90 minutes was unlikely. Mauricio Amaro made his first Atlanta start, and after only limited first-team minutes since his arrival, it would also have been surprising to see him finish the match. Atlanta was likely going to need to make an early midfield change.

The team looked raring to go before kickoff. Paulo Díaz sprinted away from the huddle, and both teams were lined up and ready a full minute before the television countdown had finished. The excitement was palpable.

For about ten minutes, Atlanta looked phenomenal, in control, dangerous. Unfortunately, Orlando insisted on playing the remaining 80 minutes. Atlanta let off the gas, Orlando got more of the ball, and Atlanta stopped pressing with the same intensity. Once Orlando scored, Atlanta lost all semblance of the game plan it had started with.

1st Half

Orlando kicked off and tried to get forward, but Atlanta’s press stopped its initial attempts. When Orlando finally worked into the final third, Lucas Hoyos came off his line and collected the ball before the attack could develop. Behind the press, Atlanta’s back line looked organized.

Elías Báez pushed up the left and drove a difficult waist-high cross towards Tomás Jacob near the penalty spot. Jacob jumped and tried to meet it first time, sending the ball wide. Atlanta kept moving forward, and Mauricio Amaro was already noticeable in his first start. He moved around with intent, finding open spaces and making himself available.

Atlanta worked the ball outside the box to Alexey Miranchuk, who lifted it towards Paulo Díaz at the back post. Díaz sent it bouncing back across the six, where Breel Embolo somehow twisted his body enough to make contact and move the ball towards goal. David Brekalo was in the way, and the ball went in off the Orlando defender for an own goal. Atlanta had the lead in the seventh minute, its earliest goal of the season.

Atlanta kept the pressure up through the end of those opening ten minutes. The back line remained organized, Orlando was still having trouble moving cleanly into Atlanta’s half, and Atlanta kept looking forward when it won the ball back. It was the best Atlanta would look all night.

I recently spoke with a coach in England for an upcoming Travel Series. More on that later. I was told that the first ten minutes of a match belong to the coach. This is when the players are following the tactics and instructions they were given before kickoff. After that, those instructions begin to fade, and the players fall back towards their natural instincts.

The difference in Atlanta’s play between the first 10 minutes, and everything after, was striking.

Orlando started getting forward with increasing ease. Martín Ojeda found space on the left, and Lucas Hoyos rushed out to knock the ball away for a corner. A few minutes later, Ojeda broke through again and looked certain to score. Hoyos came out quickly, but Ojeda cut to his left and went around him. Hoyos had to circle back to chase him down. Ojeda sent the ball back into the middle, where an open Orlando player hit it high and wide.

Orlando came into the box in numbers. A cross from the left dodged everyone near goal before Díaz cleared it. Orlando came right back through Gerbet, who sent the ball into a sprinting Griezmann at the corner of the six. Griezmann tapped it between Hoyos and the post. Hoyos got a touch, but not enough to keep it out.

Orlando were hungry for more after the equalizer and were soon back inside Atlanta’s box. One ball was knocked out for a corner, and Jacob kept his hand raised for several seconds after the play, looking confused about what had just happened or who was doing what. Orlando sent the corner into the box, where Díaz rose above everyone to clear it. Atlanta broke quickly the other way and got close to Orlando’s goal, but the attack could only produce a looping header that fell easily into Maxime Crépeau’s hands.

Almirón had dropped into a deeper position on the wing, while Fortune and Muyumba were pushing higher alongside Embolo. Orlando was overloading Atlanta’s defensive left, leaving Báez to deal with multiple Orlando players on his own.

A high ball was sent towards Amaro outside the box. He had room to bring it down, but tried to hit it first time and sent it horribly to the right. Orlando collected and rushed forward. To his credit, Amaro tracked back and got to the ball first. He then tried a backpass to Hoyos and sent it wildly to the left. Hoyos was able to collect before Orlando could do any damage.

Orlando kept working their left. Angulo tried to cross. Díaz turned his back to the runner. The ball hit him and stayed out. It was a fortunate block. A little later, Angulo was free again on the left and sent another cross into the box. Alonso saw the danger and got in front of Ojeda just in time.

Atlanta reached halftime at 1-1. By then, the excitement from the opening ten minutes was a distant memory.

2nd Half

Atlanta were late coming back out of the locker room. Jay Fortune’s night was over, with Adrian Gill replacing him. Gill started quickly, constantly passing and moving, passing and moving. W hen Orlando tried to break down his side, he tracked back and stopped it.

The lethargy was becoming obvious. Díaz passed one ball straight out of bounds and put his head down. A moment later, he tried a slide tackle in the final third, missed, and Orlando broke the other way. Atlanta were slow to pressure and slow to run. At one point, Orlando had the ball and only Gill and Amaro were moving. Everyone else was standing, waiting for something to happen.

Robin Jansson scooped a long ball over Atlanta’s back line, setting Ojeda and Angulo free behind. Hoyos came towards Ojeda, who pushed the ball sideways to an open Angulo. He taps it into the empty net. The flag initially went up for offside, but VAR overturned the decision and Orlando led 2-1.

At one point, Embolo was moving too slowly with the ball. Atuesta ran up from behind and knocked into him. Embolo went down with the most dramatic forward flip possible trying to get the call.

A little later, Miranchuk passed wide to Báez and received a quick ball back. He then tried to dribble through four Orlando players and lost it.

Martino went to his bench in the 64th minute, replacing Muyumba with Luke Brennan. Brennan went to the right, Gill stayed deeper, and Amaro moved up level with Miranchuk. Almirón was pushed higher, closer to Embolo than he had been during the first half.

Brennan sent a cross into Almirón in the middle. Almirón was clearly offside, but still managed to put the shot wide from just in front of goal. Soon after, Jacob knocked hard into Brekalo while going for a ball in the box. The referee correctly called the foul. Jacob responded by throwing the ball away, needlessly picking up a yellow card.

Orlando broke forward, and Griezmann found himself one-on-one with Hoyos. Griezmann hit a hard shot. Hoyos came up with a huge save. The ball bounced out to another Orlando player, who took another crack. Hoyos came up with another big save.

Two minutes after Hoyos’ back-to-back saves, Orlando came through the middle with quick triangle passing. Griezmann carried the ball forward, played it to Justin Ellis, and kept up his run. Ellis slipped the return ball back through Atlanta’s defense. ATLUTD couldn’t get a sniff of it, and Griezmann poked the finish past Hoyos for 3-1.

Martino made three changes in the 78th in an attempt to get settle things. Fafà Picault replaced Miranchuk, Stian Mihaj replaced Díaz, and Sérgio Santos replaced Embolo. Within moments, Mihaj blocked a hard Orlando shot.

Late in the half, Atlanta United resorted to hero ball, frequently sending crosses into the box. Báez crossed towards Brennan, who stretched but could not quite get there. A later free kick came into the box which Báez heads back across goal. The ball traveled along the goal line, with Brennan close but unable to get there. Griezmann rushed back and knocked it backwards off the line. Orlando struggled to get the ball out, but eventually cleared it.

By this point, the crowd was starting to walk out. Orlando’s supporters had been loud all night, although many of their chants were aimed at Miami. Atlanta’s crowd, quiet for much of the second half, had little to cheer about.

Picault surged down the left, used a double fake to get around his defender, and sent a cross into the box, but behind Miranchuk. Santos was close and completely whiffed after a huge wind-up.

Angulo again got behind Atlanta’s back line down the left. Mihaj chased him from behind and toe-poked the ball away.

Off a throw-in, Amaro had time on the left and sent a cross towards the far end of the six. Mihaj rose and headed it back across goal. The ball struck Tyrese Spicer and went in for Orlando’s second own goal of the night.

The crowd finally came to life, finally given something to cheer about. Atlanta had pulled it back to 3-2, but almost no time remained. Orlando saw out the final moments and left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the win.

Closing Thoughts

Both teams had 14 shots. Orlando put seven on target, Atlanta only two. Orlando had more of the ball and completed a higher percentage of its passes. Atlanta scored twice, but neither goal was credited to an Atlanta player.

That is a difficult stat line to reconcile with how good Atlanta looked at the start. For ten minutes, the press worked. Atlanta was organized, aggressive, and playing with purpose. In the end though, there was no contest.

Martino said afterward that midfield was exactly where Atlanta needed more options.

The absences explain some of what Atlanta was dealing with. But they do not explain the change in how the team played. It was night and day after the Atlanta goal. Martino tried to change it. Gill replaced Fortune at halftime. Brennan came on for Muyumba. Almirón moved higher. Picault, Mihaj, and Santos entered together later. The shape and personnel changed several times, but Atlanta never found a sustained answer.

The loss leaves Atlanta at 6-14-4 with 22 points. Martino’s comment that “the last possibilities are already slipping away” carries more weight with every match. Atlanta travels to D.C. United on Saturday with very little room left for performances like this.

For ten minutes, Atlanta looked phenomenal. It thought it could coast. Unfortunately, Orlando insisted on playing the other 80.

Atlanta’s individual performances are covered here.

Player Impressions: ATLUTD 2-3 Orlando

Atlanta started bright and scored first, but Orlando took control and never looked back. Lucas Hoyos prevented a heavier defeat while Mauricio Amaro and Luke Brennan provided some of the few encouraging performances.

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