Atlanta United 2 fell to Philadelphia Union II 1-0 at Subaru Park Friday night. Remi Okunlola made his first career start while Jackson Conway made his season debut with ATL UTD 2.
Philadelphia came out with early pressure on Atlanta's back line and Vicente Reyes was forced to make an early save in the second minute. The goalkeeper made an errant pass that fell to Nelson Pierre just outside the box where the Philadelphia forward took one touch and fired a shot towards the near post, but Reyes was there for the first save of the match.
Reyes was forced to make another critical save in the 41st minute. Anton Sorenson blasted a shot from distance and forced Reyes to make a diving save with the fingertips of his right hand.
Philadelphia found the breakthrough in the 57th minute off a goal from Olney. The play began on a throw-in to Nelson Pierre down the right sideline. Pierre dribbled forward before sending a cross in for Olney who found space behind Efrain Morales inside the six-yard-box, and gently tapped the ball under Reyes for the goal.
In the 72nd minute, Atlanta found its best chance at goal off a volley blasted towards the net by David Mejía. The second-half substitute stood at the penalty arc when a cross that was cleared by a Philadelphia defender fell to Mejía for the volley attempt, but it was saved by Philadelphia goalkeeper Andrew Rick.
ATL UTD 2’s final opportunity to level the match came in the 87th minute when Erik Centeno received the ball on the left side of the 18 and cut the ball back to Nick Firmino inside the box, however his shot went just over of the crossbar.
ATL UTD 2 returns to action on Thursday, June 15 when it travels to Columbus Crew 2 at Historic Crew Stadium (7:00 p.m., Apple TV - MLS Season Pass). 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.
Match Summary
Stats
Shots: 12-7 Philadelphia
Shots on target: 5-3 Philadelphia
Corner kicks: 3-2 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 17-15 Atlanta
xG: 1.41 - .52 Philadelphia
Possession: 63-37 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 85-70 Atlanta
Scoring
PHI - Christopher Olney (Nelson Pierre) 57'
Disciplinary
PHI - Nelson Pierre 30' 🟨
PHI - Anton Sorenson 54' 🟨
PHI - David Vasquez 56' 🟨
ATL - Toni Tiente 86' 🟨
Notes
- Remi Okunlola made his first professional start.
- Jackson Conway made his season debut with ATL UTD 2
