COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 21, 2026) - Atlanta United 2 fell 3-2 to Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday at Historic Crew Field in Columbus. Arif Kovac scored his league-leading 10th goal of the season in the loss.
Just seven seconds into the match, center back Gianmarco Di Noto fouled Kovac just outside the box after a probing kick from Jonathan Ransom to open proceedings. With Ignacio Suarez-Couri and Moises Tablante both standing over the ball, Suarez-Couri bailed at the last moment, leaving Tablante to strike the free kick with his left foot. The effort was well struck, crashing off the top of the Columbus crossbar and back into play, but the rebound attempt from Suarez-Couri was blocked.
In the sixth minute, Columbus scored on a breakaway. Right wingback Owen Presthus, who received the ball at the right sideline of his own defensive third, hit a lofted through ball down the pitch. Striker Chase Adams attempted to leap and head the ball down after it bounced, but the ball carried over his head and fell to left midfielder Kevin Gbamble, who was a step past Toto Majub just before midfield. With the entire Atlanta half open, Gbamble sprinted into space and fired a shot past Ransom at the near post to give his side the lead.
Columbus quickly doubled its lead in the 11th minute. The attack once again began through Presthus on the right side, who played a forward ball to Gbamble running down the wing. With a few dribbles and a quick cut inside, Gbamble slipped past Majub to run into the box before firing a square pass to right midfielder Zach Zengue, who tapped the ball into the net at the back post to make it 2-0.
Atlanta pulled a goal back in the 31st minute. Suarez-Couri, linking up with Tablante just outside the box on the right wing, launched a lofted cross to Kovac at the back post. Kovac, outmaneuvering his two markers, found himself free for the header, which he executed powerfully past goalkeeper Stanislav Lapkes for his 10th goal of the season.
Columbus re-established its two-goal advantage in the 63rd minute. After dispossessing Tablante in the Columbus half, midfielder Tarun Karumanchi quickly played a through ball down the left side, finding Adams ahead of Daniel Chica and Matthew Senanou. Ransom, out of his goal, and Senanou were able to apply pressure to Adams to disturb his one-on-one opportunity, but the Columbus striker managed to keep his balance, dribble around both players and finish with an angled shot into an open net.
In the 82nd minute, Cameron Dunbar scored to keep Atlanta in the game. Santiago Pita, who had dribbled past three defenders on the right flank, drifted centrally and hit a cross-field pass to Cameron Dunbar in space. Dunbar was then able to dribble into the box from the left side before striking a left-footed effort that skipped past Lapkes and into the bottom-right corner of the net to make it 3-2.
In the final 10 minutes, Columbus maintained possession, draining the little remaining time by controlling the ball near the corner flag, and Atlanta was unable to replicate the previous week’s comeback.
Atlanta United 2 (7-4-3, 23 points) returns to action Saturday, June 27, when it returns home to face Crown Legacy FC at Turner Soccer Complex (7 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here).
