Playing the second game in a 34-game season is way too soon for must-wins conversations.
But Atlanta United has not been a typical MLS franchise. It now finds itself in an atypical place.
After playing its worst game ever in last week’s 4-0 season-opening loss at Houston, it faces D.C. United, a team that wasn’t very good but still managed to beat the Five Stripes three times last season. Other than the first 15 minutes of their first meeting at Bobby Dodd Stadium, when Atlanta United could have scored five times if not for goalkeeper Bill Hamid, the team was outplayed for the remaining 2-3/4 games.
So, Atlanta United’s players said it’s a good thing that Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium they can not only erase the Houston loss, but also break the hex that D.C. United has had over it.
“Every game in this league is a must-win game, but I definitely think there’s a little extra,” fullback Greg Garza said. “They were definitely a bit of an Achilles’ Heel for us last year.”
Manager Gerardo Martino described Sunday’s game as complicated because Atlanta United is coming off a loss and D.C. United has added several quality players, including Yamil Asad.
Atlanta United’s players were at a loss to explain why the league’s first red-and-black team had such mastery over it last season.
D.C. United won only nine games, three against the Five Stripes, and scored only 31 goals with six coming in the 3-1 win at Bobby Dodd Stadium on April 30, the 2-1 win at RFK Stadium on June 21 and the 1-0 win at RFK on Aug. 23.
If not for those dropped nine points, Atlanta United would have easily secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Instead, it finished in fourth to become the first MLS expansion team since Seattle in 2009 to qualify for the playoffs.
“It was a little bit of a surprising when you see the whole season and the way we played,” midfielder Kevin Kratz said. “You know there’s something on the table that we need to get in our direction. We want to make sure that we bounce back from our last game. We will work hard to be well prepared and now hope to get a win at home.”
Houston defeated Atlanta United last, using some of the same tactics that D.C. United did last year: absorb the pressure, win the ball and then spring counterattacks before Atlanta United can reset its defense.
While two of Houston’s goals, the second and fourth, came from corner kicks, one of those corner kicks was the result of a counterattack. The Dynamo’s first goal came from an over-the-top pass that caught Atlanta United’s players too high up the field.
Houston and D.C. United both took advantage of individual mistakes, something that Martino said has been a problem throughout the preseason.
“When we are making errors, other teams are making us pay for them,” he said. “We are working on that and also the 50-50 battles, both defensively and in the attacking half.”
It will be vital for Atlanta United to maintain its shape, even when attacking, to negate the effectiveness of D.C. United on the counterattack.
“…They can lull you to sleep,” captain Michael Parkhurst said. “You think you’re on top, you’re on top, you’re on top you’re crushing them, the keeper is making some saves and all of a sudden they counter-attack a couple of times, get a lucky goal, or a deserved goal, and all of a sudden you are looking up. I think that’s where we failed last year and hopefully we can correct that this year.”
As if trying to show that the team is better than it was last year, and trying to prove that it’s better than D.C. United isn’t enough motivation, this game is also important because it’s an Eastern Conference game. Several teams in the East improved in the offseason in the chase to earn one of the six playoff seeds.
The fight for those spots lasted into September last season.
“Whether it’s the second game of the year, middle of the year or end of the year those games are always important,” midfielder Jeff Larentowicz said. “It’s good to get off on the right foot. Whatever happened last year is in the past. They are a different team. We are a different team. The Eastern Conference games are big games. We are going to approach it that way.”
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