Atlanta United will play its final exhibition game Saturday, which also will be its first opportunity to won a trophy in its inaugural MLS season.
The team will play Charleston, the end of a doubleheader that starts with Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders of MLS meeting in the Carolina Challenge Cup.
Atlanta United must win, and Columbus lose or tie, for the red and black to win. Columbus has four points from its first two games, Atlanta United three, Charleston two and Seattle one. Teams gets three points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.
Here are three things to watch:
The reserves. Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said that those who haven't played a lot in the first three preseason games likely will play a lot Saturday. That could mean extended time for some of the team's younger players, a group that includes Powder Springs' Andrew Carleton, Locust Grove's Chris Goslin, forward Brandon Vazquez, defenders Anton Walkes and Miles Robinson, the team's first draft pick, and goalkeeper Alex Tambakis, the team's first signing, and Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, the third round pick in the draft, among others.
It also may mean extended time for some of the veterans who haven’t gotten to play for different reasons. That group includes Carlos Carmona, Kevin Kratz, Mark Bloom, Zach Loyd, Romario Williams and Jacob Peterson.
The tactics. Regardless of the personnel, Martino will still coach the team to aggressively press the other team when it has the ball, concentrating on the opponent's half of the field. A press in soccer is just like a press in basketball: Atlanta United's players will try to work together to force Charleston to a particular side of the field, where it can converge and create a turnover. Once Atlanta United it gets the ball, it may need just one pass to get a shot off.
Charleston will provide an excellent test, just as it did in tying Seattle 1-1 and Columbus 1-1. The USL squad has been able to play compactly on defense, making it hard to create legitimate scoring opportunities.
Atlanta United has loaned players to Charleston for the first two games. It hasn’t yet announced if it will loan anyone other than Jeffrey Otoo, who will be with the Battery this season, for Saturday’s game.
The support. Support for the team at the games has dwindled since the opener at Chattanooga. The reasons are obvious: While Chattanooga is a two-hour drive, Charleston is a five-hour drive. One of the games in the Cup was on a Wednesday. But the finale is a weekend game and will be the last chance for supporters to see the squad before the March 5 season opener against New York Red Bulls at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium.
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