Atlanta United 2 fell 3-2 in the 2023 season opener to New England Revolution II. Raimar and Nicolas Firmino scored in the second half, but the comeback fell short. Despite the loss, Tyler Young and Karim Tmimi made their professional debuts.
Goalkeeper Vicente Reyes was called into action right away as he stopped a close range shot from Malcolm Fry in the first minute. ATL UTD 2 quickly settled into the contest as both teams looked to find clear cut chances. The first scoring opportunity for Atlanta came in the 18th minute when Young found Alan Carleton running free down the middle. Carleton played a through ball into the path of Johnny Villal, but his shot was saved by Nico Campuzano. Moments later, New England struck the post as Jordan Adebayo-Smith rounded Reyes but couldn't find the open net.
In the 37th minute, New England scored first. Off a short corner, captain Jake Rozhansky sent in a low cross that was deflected by Atlanta's Aiden McFadden into his own net at the near post. A couple minutes later, David Mejia nearly finished off a cross from McFadden, but his volley sailed over the bar. New England took a 1-0 halftime lead into the break.
The visitors doubled their lead early in the second half as Rozhansky collected a loose ball at the top of the box. He settled the ball onto his left foot and curled a beautiful shot into the top left corner leaving Reyes no chance. Pierre Cayet extended the New England lead in the 60th minute, scoring a header off a corner kick.
Atlanta continued to attack looking for a response. In the 82nd minute, Firmino headed a cross onto the crossbar, then Tmimi couldn't convert the rebound as Atlanta nearly found the back of the net. Two minutes later, Raimar finished a beautiful move with a tap-in at the far post off a Erik Centeno cross. In the 90th minute, Firmino earned a penalty kick after being pushed down in the box. He converted the penalty with a low strike into the bottom left corner. Atlanta continued to push for the equalizer until the end, but came up short.
Atlanta United 2 returns to action when it hosts New York Red Bulls II on Sunday, April 2 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium (7:00 p.m., MLSNEXTPro.com, Soccer Down Here Radio). 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: 10-9 Atlanta
Shots on target: 4-4
Corner kicks: 5-3 New England
Fouls Committed: 17-7 New England
xG: 1.80-0.83 Atlanta
Possession: 58-42 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 87-80 Atlanta
Scoring
NER - Aiden McFadden (og) 37'
NER - Jake Rozhansky 52'
NER - Pierre Cayet 60' (Rozhansky)
ATL - Raimar 84' (Centeno)
ATL - Nick Firmino 90' (PK)
Disciplinary
NER - Jake Rozhansky 45' 🟨
NER - Jordan Adebayo-Smith 55' 🟨
NER - Ben Awashie 73' 🟨
Notes
- Karim Tmimi and Tyler Young made their professional debuts.
- Fuad Adeniyi made his club debut.
- Raimar scored his first goal of the 2023 season.
- Nick Firmino scored his first goal of the 2023 season.
- Erik Centeno recorded his first assist of the season.
Attendance: 463
ATLANTA UNITED 2 STARTING XI
GK: Vicente Reyes
D: Tyler Young, Efrain Morales (Kofi Twumasi 70'), Fuad Adeniyi, Aiden McFadden
M: Ajani Fortune (Toni Tiente 46'), Nick Firmino (C), Alan Carleton (Karim Tmimi 46')
F: Jonantan Villal, David Mejia (Erik Centeno 62'), Luke Brennan (Raimar 79')
Substitutes not used:
Mathieu Brick, Andrew de Gannes, Sebastian Guerra (GK), Emenike Nwogu
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION II STARTING XI
GK: Nico Campuzano
D: Victor Souza, Pierre Cayet, Tiago Suarez (Colby Quinones 62'), Peyton Miller
M: Damian Rivera (Joshua Bolma 46'), Jake Rozhansky (C) (Ben Awashie 71'), Noble Okello, Malcolm Fry
F: Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Weverton 62'), Marcos Dias
Substitutes not used:
Jacob Akanyiridge, Brandonn Bueno, Nakye Greenidge-Duncan, Italo, Maxwell Weinstein (GK)
OFFICIALS
Luis Guardia (referee), Ryan Starr (assistant), Austin Holt (assistant), Joshua Belk (fourth).
