Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said Sunday’s game against the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J., is the team’s biggest this season and, next to last year’s playoff game, the second most important in the franchise’s short history.
Huh. No, talk of it’s just another game. No downplaying the importance.
“It can define a lot of things for us,” Martino said Friday.
The Five Stripes and the Red Bulls are the top two teams in MLS. Atlanta United leads New York 63-59 in points. Should Atlanta United win, it will have a seven-point lead with three games -- and just nine points -- remaining.
Atlanta United would need only three more points -- a win or three draws -- or one loss by Red Bulls -- to win the Supporters’ Shield.
It would take a collapse in a city that has unfortunately seen collapses to keep Atlanta United from winning its first trophy for on-field achievement. It would also be that much closer to clinching home-field advantage in the playoffs, which will start with the knockout games Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, continue with the semifinals Nov. 4 and 11, the finals Nov. 25 and 29, and the MLS Cup on Dec. 8.
“I agree with him,” Atlanta United centerback Leandro Gonzalez Pirez said. “For the history of the club, it’s one of the most important games.”
So, yeah, it’s an important game.
Atlanta United’s players have deflected the pressure they may be feeling by pointing to the four-point lead.
“Reality is they have to win to make it tight again,” Atlanta United’s Julian Gressel said. “A tie is a pretty decent result for us because they are going to run out of games if they don’t win. They know it. we know it.”
New York’s players have tried to turn the pressure back on Atlanta United by issuing Jedi mind trick-type challenges. Centerback Aaron Long told MLSsoccer.com the team’s first priority is trying to shut out Atlanta United, which features the league’s all-time single-scoring scoring leader in Josef Martinez (30 goals) and league-leading offense (65 goals scored). The Red Bulls are tied with Seattle for the fewest goals allowed (32).
“We all know that they are faster in transition, they have good players going forward, a lot of different threats,” Long said. “Just getting our unit back, being able to defend and shut them out, at home, is first priority and we’ll get our goals."
Red Bulls’ fullback Kemar Lawrence, whose matchup with Gressel will be fascinating, wasn’t as subtle.
“I’m expecting the best,” Lawrence told MLSSoccer.com. “This is what we live for. I just want their best, simple as that. Bring everything you got from Atlanta and bring it to New York, bring it to New Jersey, and we will be up for the challenge. We’ll be ready.”
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