Playing without its usual goalkeeper, but with a man advantage for almost 60 minutes, Atlanta United defeated San Jose 4-2 on Tuesday at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Atlanta United (9-7-3) heads into the two-week break for the Gold Cup with 30 points and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It is three points behind third-place NYCFC and one point ahead of Orlando City. Both those teams play Wednesday.
A goal by Tommy Thompson was offset by one from Carlos Carmona in the 55th minute. Josef Martinez gave Atlanta United a 2-1 lead with a header in the 65th minute, but Chris Wondolowski equalized less than a minute later on a volleyed shot.
Anton Walkes scored the winning goal on a header in the 82nd minute. It came on a corner kick and was Atlanta United’s first goal on a set piece in league play this season. It was Walkes’ first goal this season.
Martinez added another in the 89th minute on an assist from Almiron. Martinez leads Atlanta United with nine goals. Almiron has seven assists.
The team announced before the game that goalkeeper Alec Kann is out 6-8 weeks after suffering a quad injury in last week’s 2-0 win at Columbus.
Kann has started all 20 of the team’s games this season across all competitions.
Kyle Reynish got the start Tuesday. He hadn’t started, or played, in a game since doing so once while with Chicago in 2014. Brad Guzan, who signing was announced in January, likely won’t join the team until late July-early August because he is with the U.S. men’s national team in the Gold Cup.
Thompson opened the scoring in the second minute following an Atlanta United turnover in its third of the field. It was his first goal and ended any chance of the Five Stripes posting their third consecutive shutout.
Atlanta United played the final 58 minutes with a man advantage after fullback Kofi Sarkodie received his second yellow card in the 32nd minute. Both cards were issued when he was trying to stop Yamil Asad. The first came on a two-footed tackle that easily could have been a red card.
Atlanta United broke through when Carmona tapped in a header by Martinez that was knocked down by goalkeeper David Bingham. The header come off a cross from Greg Garza. It was the 18th cross that Atlanta United had attempted in the game. It was Carmona’s second goal this season.
Atlanta United took a 2-1 lead on a header by Martinez in the 65th minute off another cross by Garza. It was a bullet of a shot that blew over Bingham’s head. It was Martinez’s eighth goal this season, tying him with Hector Villalba for the team lead.
As they have done several times this season, Atlanta United quickly allowed a goal. This time, Wondolowski hit a right-footed volley from a tight angle to tie the score at 2-2 in the 66th minute.
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