Atlanta United must shake off the heat-induced hangover from its last game and defeat Columbus on Tuesday (8 p.m., ESPN2) if it hopes to advance in the MLS tournament.
The Five Stripes’ trip to Orlando, Fla., has been anything but magical, with consecutive losses by 1-0 tallies. The team that once was the envy of the other teams in MLS because of its attacking flair is now more pedestrian than powerful, with a scoreless streak now past 300 minutes.
“For us, it’s an opportunity to show what we are made out of,” Atlanta United striker Adam Jahn said. “We are reeling right now. We can slum and be negative or respond and fight back. I think that’s what you are going to see on Tuesday.”
Even if Atlanta United defeats Columbus, which is unbeaten and sporting a plus-6 goal difference after its two games, it needs help to hope to make it to the tournament’s knockout round. Atlanta United can’t finish as one of the top two teams in its group, which would guarantee advancement.
The New York Red Bulls and Cincinnati, the two teams that defeated Atlanta United in the tourney, each have three points. They play each other Thursday, so one of them will finish with more points than the Five Stripes. If the Red Bulls and Cincinnati draw, each will finish with four points, which will also eliminate Atlanta United from consideration as a wild card. Atlanta United needs one of those teams to defeat the other, and then there is a Sudoku-like set of circumstances that must be fulfilled, which included NYCFC defeating Miami by just one goal Monday morning:
Updated Atlanta United advancement scenarios:
— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) July 20, 2020
-Must beat Columbus Tuesday.
-Must have NY Red Bulls and Cincinnati not draw Wednesday.
Then, they need ONE of these to happen: pic.twitter.com/GIjp55JO07
“We aren’t in control of that,” Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer said. “We are in control of playing well against Columbus Crew.”
De Boer said he wouldn’t approach the game or manage the game differently if Atlanta United’s situation was different. He repeated what seems to be one of the team’s talking points this season, one he and the players have said a few times since entering the bubble in Orlando: “We are Atlanta United. We want to win every game.”
De Boer said a win would be important not just because of the implication on the team’s future in the tournament but for confidence heading into the next part of the regular season, whenever that may be. MLS hasn’t announced anything specific about its schedule post-Orlando. The championship game of the event is scheduled for Aug. 11.
“Won first two, now we lost two, and hopefully we can ramp up again with a win for the rest of the season,” he said.
To win, Atlanta United must score. Even before it was reduced to 10 men in its loss to Cincinnati, it didn’t appear to bring keys that would unlock the bunkered defense used by manager Jaap Stam.
“We didn’t have an answer to create chances,” de Boer said. “The heat also didn’t help.”
Atlanta United has spent its past few training sessions working to identify the opponent’s defensive tactics and coming up with counters.
Mo Adams said the team needs to look for Ezequiel Barco and Pity Martinez in holes in the defense and then use runs to create seams.
“Have to pick and choose areas to exploit,” Adams said. “I don’t think Columbus will sit back like Cincinnati.”
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