Atlanta United 2's comeback fell short in a 6-3 loss to rivals Huntsville City FC on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Stadium. ATL UTD 2 saw three different players bag goals while 16-year-old Academy midfielder Landon Zuniga made his professional debut as a second half substitute.
Huntsville City struck the back of the net in the 12th minute. Captain Jonathan Bolanos collected a pass deep into Atlanta's defensive third, centering the ball for Woobens Pacius to take a one-time strike that sent the ball into the roof of the net. The visitors doubled their lead in the 22nd minute after a mishit pass led to Bolanos getting the ball within ATL UTD 2's penalty area. Bolanos picked out Forster Ajago making a run at goal for a tap-in just inside the six-yard box.
After a pass from half field back to goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert fell short of its target in the 35th minute, a scramble between the Jamacian keeper and Oliver Wright just outside the box resulted in Wright slipping a pass to Bolanos for an open goal. Two minutes later, Huntsville's Ethan O'Brien sent a pass into the box that Ajago controlled, leaving it for Pacius to strike past Hibbert.
ATL UTD 2 pulled one back just before heading into the halftime break. Brazilian midfielder Nick Firmino left the ball just outside the 18 for Noble Okello to run through in stride and send a shot past Huntsville's keeper after taking a deflection.
Halftime substitute Karim Tmimi made his presence felt on the offensive end coming right out of the break, claiming Atlanta's second goal in the 49th minute. The play began when midfielder Luke Brennan broke away from his defender in the box to get a shot off on target, but his attempt was pawed away by Bryan Dowd. The Frenchman positioned himself by the penalty spot for the rebound and sent in a right-footed volley.
Atlanta's comeback attempt continued after substitute Ashton Gordon brought the home side within one goal in the 81st minute. Okello set the play in motion after finding Brennan on the right wing, who sent in a cross to the back post for Gordon to finish with a left-footed volley.
The visitors snuffed out the comeback four minutes later when defender Joey Akupunonu found Johnny Pérez open in the midfield. The Huntsville City midfielder turned and launched a shot that dipped low to make its way past Hibbert. In the 88th minute, Efraín Morales took down Pacius in the box which resulted in a penalty called for Huntsville. Pacius stepped up to the penalty spot and sent his attempt to the lower left corner to complete his hat trick.
Atlanta United 2 (7-12-6, 31 points) returns to action on Thursday, Sept. 19 when the club travels to take on Crown Legacy FC at Sportsplex at Matthews (7:30 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:
- Midfielder Javier Armas is the only ATL UTD 2 player to appear in all 2,250 minutes this season.
- Luke Brennan notched his first assist of the season.
- Luke Brennan led all players in crosses with five.
- Nick Firmino recorded his third assist of the season.
- Ashton Gordon scored his second goal of the year.
- Efraín Morales led all players in successful passes with 52. He finished with a 96% accurate passing percentage.
- Noble Okello netted his third goal of the year.
- Karim Tmimi scored his ninth goal of the season. He now has 15 career goals with ATL UTD 2.
- Karim Tmimi led all players in shots with six.
- Academy midfielder Landon Zuniga made his professional debut as a second half substitute.
Stats:
Shots: 18-17 Atlanta
Shots on target: 11-10 Huntsville
Corner kicks: 6-4 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 17-15 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 85.8% - 84.4% Atlanta
Scoring:
HNT – Woobens Pacius (Bolanos) 12'
HNT – Forster Ajago (Bolanos) 27'
HNT – Jonathan Bolanos (Wright) 35'
HNT – Woobens Pacius (Ajago) 37'
ATL – Noble Okello (Firmino) 44'
ATL – Karim Tmimi (Unassisted) 49'
ATL – Ashton Gordon (Brennan) 81'
HNT – Johnny Pérez (Akupunonu) 85'
HNT – Wobbens Pacius (Penalty) 88'
Disciplinary:
ATL – Efraín Morales 🟨 32'
HNT – Joseph Skinner 🟨 34'
HNT – Wobben Pacius 🟨 53'
ATL – Alan Carleton 🟨 57'
HNT – Jonathan Bolanos 🟨 66'
HNT – Julian Gaines 🟨 78'
