Josef Martinez can't stop scoring, but a late goal cost Atlanta United a chance at winning for at least the third time this season.
Martinez scored two more goals, but a goal in stoppage time by Tosaint Ricketts resulted in Atlanta United drawing Toronto 2-2 on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Martinez has 26 goals this season and needs one more to tie the MLS single-season record. Atlanta United has 10 games remaining, starting with Columbus on Aug. 19.
Atlanta United (14-4-6) remains unbeaten in its past five in front of 45,191. The team increased its league-leading points total to 48 and is still on pace to break the league’s single-season points record of 69, set by Toronto (6-11-5) last season on its way to winning the MLS Cup.
“We had talked about it that there was no game for two weeks, put it all out there, give it everything that you’ve got plus a little bit more, and I thought we did that,” Atlanta United captain Michael Parkhurst said. “We’re happy with the performance. We’re disappointed with a couple moments. We didn’t close out the game, obviously, so we’re disappointed by the end result, but overall, the performance was good against, like I said, a very good Toronto team. Their position is not indicative of the team that we played today.”
It was the third consecutive time that the two teams tied 2-2, and the second consecutive time that Toronto snatched a draw from a loss in the final minutes. The first time they did happened in last year’s regular season finale when Sebastian Giovinco struck a free kick. That result knocked Atlanta United from second in the East to fourth and the first-round playoff game against Columbus.
“I take each game as a one off,” Atlanta United midfielder Jeff Larentowicz said. “The game there was a good draw. The game at home (Sebastian) Giovinco hits a great goal at the end. It’s disappointing. Today was certainly disappointing. I don’t look at it as three ties equal to each other. I think each game presented something different. Today, we surely should’ve won the game.”
Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino, perhaps by necessity because of injuries and by choice because of Toronto’s Jozy Altidore and Giovinco, went back to the 3-5-2 formation that his team used 13 times previously this season. However, it was the first time the team used it since June 9 at NYCFC.
Beset by injuries most of the season, Toronto manager Greg Vanney was able to field a very strong lineup that included Giovinco, Altidore, Jonathan Osorio and Victor Vazquez.
Atlanta United missed two scoring opportunities in the first half.
First, Miguel Almiron ran past Michael Bradley, behind Toronto’s defense and onto a pass from Leandro Gonzalez Pirez. Almiron ran around the ball and shanked a shot wide.
Second, Martinez also got behind Toronto’s defense. Hector Villalba found him with a simple cross. Martinez’s shot from 12 yards hit goalkeeper Alex Bono in the jaw and shoulder, forcing him to receive treatment.
Toronto wasn’t as wasteful. A pass from Leandro Gonzalez Pirez was intercepted by Altidore 20 yards from Atlanta United’s goal. He passed wide to the right to Auro, who hit a cross into the penalty box where Giovinco, standing unmarked between three Atlanta United defenders, tapped it in to give the Reds a 1-0 lead just before halftime.
Atlanta United needed less than six minutes to find the equalizer and Martinez was the catalyst. First, he was taken down by Bono, who received a yellow card, in the penalty box. Next, Martinez converted the penalty to tie the score. It was the seventh consecutive game in which Martinez has scored. That's tied for the second longest streak in MLS history. It was also Martinez’s sixth penalty kick goal this season.
But, Martinez wasn’t done.
His glancing header in the 67th minute gave Atlanta United a 2-1 lead. Villalba earned the assist with a beautifully weighted pass from the right wing. Parkhurst also was given an assist. It was the second of his Atlanta United career.
Atlanta United wasted two more chances in the second half, one by Almiron and another by Villalba, and Toronto again made them play when Jonathan Osorio’s cross was put in by Ricketts.
Julian Gressel took responsiblity for a break down that led to the goal. Gressel said neither he nor Brandon Vazquez stepped out to pressure Giovinco before his pass to Osorio. Then, both players moved to close down Giovinco, which opened up the space for Osorio to run into. Giovinco squeezed the pass through to Osorio for the easy cross.
“Up until that point at the end of the game, other than their goal, I don’t really remember too many shots or chances they had to test Brad (Guzan), unfortunately,” Larentowicz said. “Sometimes, that’s how it goes. It’s more points lost, more points lost at home. But, even at halftime, we came in and said that’s a good half. We’re doing a lot of the right things. It’s just one breakdown, but unfortunately, one breakdown a half and you’re not winning the game.”
The ending of the game was marred by Chris Mavinga hitting Leandro Gonzalez Pirez in the face, resulting in a red card.
“It’s going to take a while to get over it,” Gressel said. “That’s the thing with a bye week. You think about this game for quite some time now. To get this at the end (and to) tie the game, (it) is annoying (and) frustrating. Obviously, I’ll take a hard look at that last goal and what happened with myself, and collectively, we’ve got to regroup. We played really, really well. We come back from 1-0 (and a) goal in stoppage time in the first half. We just kept playing and played really well and found our way back into the game. Then, to go up 2-1, and whatever happened at the end there, happened. We’ll take the positives and work on the negatives.”
MLS Single Season Goals Record
Goals Player Team Year
1. 27 Roy Lassiter TB 1996
Chris Wondolowski SJ 2012
Bradley Wright-Phillips NYRB 2014
2. 26 Josef Martinez ATL 2018
Stern John CLB 1998
Mamadou Diallo TB 2000
3. 24 Carlos Ruiz LA 2002
Bradley Wright-Phillips NYRB 2016
Nemanja Nikolic CHI 2017
5. 23 Raul Diaz Arce DC 1996
Taylor Twellman NE 2002
David Villa NYCFC 2016
