In one trip, Atlanta United’s coaching staff and players will experience many of the things at Seattle on Friday that make MLS a challenge: a cross-country flight of more than 2,000 miles, a game late at night and on turf, which is a rarity in most of the world’s better leagues.
Add in that the game is against the defending MLS champs, that it’s the first of four consecutive road games against teams that were in last season’s playoffs, and it’s a “doozy” as captain Michael Parkhurst described it.
Parkhurst made that statement before it was announced that the team must attempt this challenge without the league’s leading scorer Josef Martinez, who is out 4-6 weeks with a strained quadriceps in his left leg.
“We’ve had a lot of time prepare for it,” Parkhurst said Monday. “We still do. We feel like we will be ready to go out and get a result.”
The two teams will offer different styles. Atlanta United prefers to control possession while Seattle is willing to cede possession if it can eventually lead to a counter-attack.
“I think it’ll be a very up-and-down game,” Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said. “I think it will be an exciting game for the people to watch. Two teams that want to play their unique way.”
But Seattle is just the first challenge. How will Atlanta United tackle not only that game, but the next at Toronto, the team Seattle beat for the title; Montreal, the team Toronto beat to make it to the title game; and Real Salt Lake, which squeaked into the Western Conference playoffs?
Brace yourself for the answer. It’s complex.
“It’s the old cliche, one game at a time,” winger Jacob Peterson said. “A lot of the guys who are new to this league, it’s something they haven’t seen before. It’s taking it day by day and working on the little things in training that we will implement this weekend.”
Atlanta United may be helped by the fact that none of the teams they will face are playing at their best. Seattle has earned four points in its past four games, but hasn’t looked as strong as it did toward the end of the 2016 season. Toronto has one win this season, while Montreal and Real Salt Lake have to post victories.
Still, Peterson said the road stretch may provide a deeper understanding of the quality of the squad.
“We’ve had two games at home and won against a fellow expansion team,” he said. “Now that the schedule is heating up it will be good to see where we are at and what we need to improve on. “
Earning points during this stretch should also strengthen the probability of Atlanta United being one of the six teams from the Eastern Conference to make the postseason.
“We’re not viewing these games as 0-pointers,” Parkhurst said. “We feel like we can go out and win every game that we play. Of course, the game will dictate if the point is great or not. But we are going to Seattle thinking we can get 3 (points).”
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