Two of Atlanta United’s leaders said that Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with the Revs, which happened on a soft penalty kick given to New England in the 88th minute, shouldn’t affect the team in the next two weeks.
The game at Gillette Stadium was the first of five in a stretch of two weeks that includes games with Philadelphia at Mercedes-Benz on Saturday, a U.S. Open Cup meeting with Charleston on Wednesday and then two tough games at Eastern Conference contenders NYCFC on June 9 and at Columbus on June 13.
It would be natural to think that having missing out on a victory in the final minutes could affect the team., especially after the early going this season. There have been several decisive calls that have resulted in goals for opponents or Atlanta United goals taken away in the past few weeks.
“Hopefully it doesn’t,” captain Michael Parkhurst said. “We put it behind us. It’s a tough one. It’s a tie that feels like a loss. It’s two dropped points in a tight top of the east where we could have separated ourselves from New England. We could have gotten 10 points clear of them, so it’s disappointing, but we come back home and we’ve got another Eastern Conference game on Saturday.”
Atlanta United didn’t look sharp in the first half against the Revs. Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said he didn’t think the team played well enough to deserve its 1-0 lead, which came on a goal scored by Josef Martinez. The team found its focus in the second half, creating at least seven scoring chances but did not convert, leaving an empty feeling.
Philadelphia defeated Chicago 3-1 on Wednesday and is unbeaten in its past four after dropping four of the previous five.
Atlanta United on Saturday should see the return of centerback Leandro Gonzalez Pirez from a one-game suspension. It definitely won’t have Greg Garza, who is out 4-6 months after undergoing shoulder surgery, and may not have Hector Villalba, who is day to day after suffering a hyperextended knee during training last week.
Though they have tough games upcoming at Yankee Stadium and Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Atlanta United isn’t overlooking the home game against the Union. Martino actually started talking about Philadelphia when asked about New England on Tuesday. After several seconds of complimenting several Philadelphia players, he realized his error, laughed, and started again.
Atlanta United has lost its past two home games, 2-0 to Sporting KC and 3-1 to New York Red Bulls. Both featured controversial calls and red cards to goalkeeper Brad Guzan against KC and to Guzan against Red Bulls. Though playing with 10 men, Atlanta United still looked sharp in the second half of both games.
“As long as we keep playing second halves like we played tonight, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Martino said. “I think the team has been playing well, and they deserve the credit and maybe deserve wins against (Sporting) Kansas City, deserve the credit for the win against Orlando (City), (New York City) Red Bulls and today as well.”
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