Atlanta United 2 picked up its first road win of the season in a 3-2 thriller over Huntsville City FC on Saturday, May 18 at Joe Davis Stadium. Atlanta's Javier Armas and Karim Tmimi found the back of the net yet again while Academy defender Miles Hadley bagged his first professional goal of his career. Newcomer Ethan Dudley also made his club debut.
Neither side carved out a concrete chance until the 25th minute when Armas lofted in a corner kick to Jacob Williams at the back post for a header that looked like it would cross the goal line but Huntsville's Ben Martino turned to make the save.
Atlanta broke through in the 30th minute of the match. Huntsville was looking to build out from the back but Atlanta hounded the opposing backline, forcing a turnover in the box before Tmimi laid off a pass just outside the 18 for Armas to get off a right-footed attempt that bounced just past Martino.
Immediately after Huntsville kicked back off, the home side blitzed toward Atlanta's goal to create two uncontested chances around the penalty area, but 19-year-old keeper Jayden Hibbert reacted just in time to dive in front of Huntsville's first attempt before the ball bounced back to the feet of Huntsville. The home side got off its second open chance but Hibbert, still on the ground from the first save, poked out his leg to keep Huntsville scoreless through 31 minutes.
Atlanta doubled the lead in the 52nd minute when Academy defender Miles Hadley notched his first professional goal. After Atlanta played a short free kick from 35-yards out, Armas floated a pass into the box before landing at the feet of Hadley, who slid in a right-footed shot to open his account in MLS NEXT Pro.
Huntsville pulled one back in the 67th minute after stringing together three one-time passes that began at midfield before getting sent to Tyler Pasnik on the right flank. Pasnik tapped a low cross for Forster Ajago in the middle of the box who sent it in to the bottom right corner of the net.
ATL UTD 2 netted its third goal on the night when in the 88th minute Armas sent in yet another corner kick, but this time Tmimi pulled down Armas' service in six-yard box before slotting away a right-footed shot to send Atlanta up 3-1.
The home side continued on the front foot despite the deficit, when in the 90th minute Tyler Pansik took a shot from distance that rattled around before landing at the feet of Ajago who netted his second of the night.
Huntsville narrowly missed the equalizer in the 93rd minute after Ajago ripped a long-range shot, but his attempt hit the post and Hibbert reacted to prevent the follow up shot and secured three points for Atlanta.
Atlanta United 2 (3-5-1, 11 points) continues its two match road trip when the club heads to Chattanooga FC on Saturday, May 25 at Finley Stadium (7:00 p.m. ET, Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Notes:
- ATL UTD 2 recorded its first road win of the season.
- Assistant Coach Jose Silva took the place of Head Coach Steve Cooke on the sideline due to Cooke's red card in the match against Carolina Core FC.
- Javier Armas scored his fourth goal of the season. He leads ATL UTD 2 in scoring this year.
- Ethan Dudley made his ATL UTD 2 debut with his appearance in the starting lineup.
- Academy defender Miles Hadley scored his first professional goal. Hadley is the fourth Academy product to contribute towards a goal in 2024.
- Jayden Hibbert made a career-high eight saves. This is tied for second most in club history in MLS NEXT Pro play.
- Academy defender Shawn Lanza made his season debut as
- Karim Tmimi netted his third goal of 2024.
- Karim Tmimi recorded his first assist of the season.
Stats:
Shots: 23-10 Huntsville
Shots on target: 9-5 Huntsville
Corner kicks: 6-5 Huntsville
Fouls Committed: 17-11 Huntsville
Passing accuracy: 87.7 - 84.1 Atlanta
Scoring:
ATL β Javier Armas (Tmimi) 30'
ATL β Miles Hadley (Unassisted) 53'
HNT β Forster Ajago (BolaΓ±os) 67'
ATL β Karim Tmimi (Unassisted) 88'
HNT β Forster Ajago (Unassisted) 90'
Disciplinary:
HNT β Christophe Berra π¨ 18'
ATL β MatΓas Gallardo π¨ 36'
HNT β Fernando Ciceron π¨ 40'
HNT β Tomas Ritondale π¨ 58'
HNT β Jonathan BolaΓ±os π¨ 76'
ATL β Matt Edwards π¨ 78'
HNT β Forster Ajago π¨ 90'
HNT β Tyler Pasnik π¨ 90'+4'
