Atlanta United 2 fell 4-1 to FC Cincinnati 2 at Fifth Third Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert and free agent signing Ramzi Qawasmy each made their Atlanta United 2 debut.
Cincinnati got on the board first in the 16th minute when Gerardo Valenzuela played a through ball to Moises Tablante who was able to get off a shot from a difficult angle and strike the ball to the roof of the net.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 33rd when Tablante struck a ball that met Hibbert, but Atlanta's keeper was unable to corral the ball and Peter Magione followed up the shot for a tap in.
Forward Nick Firmino got off a dangerous header in the 36th minute after Derrick Etienne Jr. whipped in a cross at the back post, but his attempt was narrowly off frame.
Atlanta pulled one back in the 42nd minute following a corner kick. Javier Armas connected a low, driven pass to Erik Centeno at the top of the box before laying it off for Tmimi who was able to get off a right footed shot through traffic to bring the scoreline to 2-1 heading into the break.
In the 55th, Nicholas Benalcazar and Mailk Pinto were able to string together consecutive passes to each other through the Atlanta defense for Benalcazar to claim Cincinnati's third of the evening.
Cincinnati capped off the scoring in the 67th minute as Benjamin Stitz capitalized on chaos in Atlanta's box, where he collected the ball just outside the six-yard box and slotted away a right footed shot.
ATL UTD 2 had one last dangerous chance in the 82nd minute, Matt Edwards swung in a ball to the center of the box for Luke Brennan who was able to get a header off, but his attempt rattled off the crossbar.
Atlanta United 2 (1-3-0, 3 points) returns to action on Wednesday, April 24 when it hosts divisional foe Chattanooga FC at Fifth Third Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com 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:
- Jayden Hibbert made his professional debut with his appearance in today's starting lineup.
- Ramzi Qawasmy made his Atlanta United 2 debut.
- Adyn Torres made his first start of the season.
- Karim Tmimi netted his second goal of the 2024 campaign.
- Erik Centeno recorded his second assist of the season.
- Karim Tmimi led all players in shots with six.
- Erik Centeno led all players in crosses with six.
Stats:
Shots: 16-14 Cincinnati
Shots on target: 6-4 Cincinnati
Corner kicks: 5-5
Fouls Committed: 20-10 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 85.7% - 77.8% Atlanta
Possession: 57.5 - 42.5 Atlanta
Scoring:
CIN – Moises Tablante (Valenzuela) 16'
CIN – Peter Magione (Tablante) 33'
ATL – Karim Tmimi (Centeno) 42'
CIN – Nicholas Benalcazar (Pinto) 55'
CIN – Benjamin Stitz (Daley) 67'
Disciplinary:
ATL – Kaiden Moore 🟨 10'
CIN – Gerardo Valenzuela 🟨 26'
CIN – Nicholas Benalcazar 🟨 27'
ATL – Jacob Williams 🟨 32'
ATL – Efraín Morales 🟨 50'
ATL – Matías Gallardo 🟨 61'
CIN – Malik Pinto 🟨 69'
