Atlanta United manager Gonzalo Pineda said his team already is past Wednesday’s upset loss against Memphis in the U.S. Open Cup and ready to put in a good performance Saturday at Nashville.
“It was a tough one for us to digest, to process,” Pineda said Friday. “But I felt like today the players’ response was pretty good, energetic, ready for tomorrow. And I hope tomorrow we can have a much better game.”
Pineda said after Wednesday’s game that part of the problem was the lack of cohesion and familiarity among the players in the lineup. Because the team played Chicago on Sunday, and with Nashville coming, Pineda was forced to bring on 10 players who didn’t start against the Fire. The result was a disjointed effort on offense that resulted in one shot on goal through the first 90 minutes and a scramble on defense that saw Memphis take 30 shots in 120 minutes. Those were the most ever shots against Atlanta United in any competition.
On Friday, after watching video, Pineda said there were other reasons that contributed to the loss, ones that he wanted to keep internally.
As it may apply to Nashville, though, and could be seen against Chicago, Pineda said the team had difficulty completing easy passes that it has completed in training and previous matches. While it remained aggressive in trying to win the ball back against Chicago, the team played timidly against Memphis. Pineda doesn’t think that will happen against Nashville. Most of the starters, with the exception of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who is listed as out for the game, will be eligible for selection.
“I think it’s a game that is going to require a lot of maturity, understand the moments of the games and how to do well in any scenario,” Pineda said.
Here are a few more things to watch:
The striker. With Giakoumakis and his team-leading five goals out, either Miguel Berry or Machop Chol likely will start at striker. Chol has one goal; Berry has yet to score and said Tuesday that he recognizes that he’s struggling to get into shooting positions. Berry started against Memphis and had one shot. Pineda thinks that Berry is working hard, and as a result, good things will come.
“Nines (strikers) come with moments where they cannot get chances or are scoring goals,” Pineda said. “But then suddenly, they score. So I expect the same from him.”
Nashville formation. The Coyotes rolled out a diamond midfield in last week’s match, with Dax McCarty at the base. They took a 1-0 lead against LAFC before the visitors scored to secure a 1-1 draw. Pineda said that Atlanta United trained against a diamond midfield and Nashville’s typical 4-2-3-1.
“They have good players, they have a good system. Whatever they play, we know it’s going to be a competitive team that knows how to manage moments of the game, when maybe to be a bit more pragmatic, when to go for transition, when to be more expansive in their buildup,” Pineda said.
And in goal. Clement Diop, who started against Memphis as Atlanta United’s goalkeeper, will start against Nashville, too. Quentin Westberg didn’t train Friday after sustaining a patella injury against Chicago.
Pineda said Diop made several spectacular saves against Memphis.
Diop said he and his teammates are ready for Saturday.
“I mean, obviously, everybody’s looking for redemption because we’re not happy to have lost on Wednesday,” Diop said. “So we really want to go into the game and trying to do a better performance and get some points.”
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Atlanta United’s 2023 MLS schedule
Feb. 25 Atlanta United 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1
March 4 Atlanta United 1, Toronto FC 1
March 11 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte FC 0
March 18 Atlanta United 5, Portland 1
March 25 Columbus 6, Atlanta United 1
April 1 Atlanta United 1, New York Red Bulls 0
April 8 Atlanta United 1, New York City FC 1
April 15 Atlanta United 2, Toronto FC 2
April 23 Atlanta United 2, Chicago 1
April 29 at Nashville SC, 1:30 p.m., Fox
May 6 at Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
May 13 vs. Charlotte FC, 7:30 p.m.
May 17 vs. Colorado Rapids, 7:30 p.m.
May 20 at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m.
May 27 at Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m.
May 31 vs. New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m., FS1
June 3 at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m.
June 10 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 21 vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
June 24 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
July 2 vs. Philadelphia Union, 4 p.m., Fox
July 8 at CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 12 at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m.
July 15 vs. Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m., FS1
Aug. 20 at Seattle Sounders, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 vs. FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2 at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 vs. Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 at Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 at FC Cincinnati, TBA
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