Atlanta United 2 fell to Philadelphia Union II 5-0 at Fifth Third Stadium on Monday night. Academy defender Kaiden Moore made his professional debut with his appearance in Atlanta's starting lineup.
Atlanta found a chance early when in the second minute of play, Ronald Hernández connected on a back post header but narrowly missed putting it on frame.
Chris Donovan got Union II on the board in the 18th minute after David Vasquez sent in a cross near the corner flag, connecting with Donovan who headed it to the upper left corner of the goal.
In the 29th minute, defender Efraín Morales got off two dangerous shots in the box following a header but Philadelphia's defense was able to get in front of both shots and keep them off frame.
Coming out of the break, Edward Davis slotted a shot to the bottom right area of goal, but Berner was able to stick out his left leg to make a stop before Davis followed up his shot with a header to make it 2-0 in the 49th minute.
Five minutes later, CJ Olney capitalized on a free kick placed just outside the box, curling it to the far right, just past a diving Berner.
In the 56th, Atlanta produced a great chance after Javier Armas found space and ripped a shot from 35 yards out, but Philadelphia's keeper was able to make a diving save.
Donovan secured a brace in the 65th minute after finding a breakaway opportunity and getting off at the edge of the box. Donovan's attempt was met by Berner, but he was unable to deflect the shot away from target.
Kyle Tucker capped off the scoring after striking a free kick just outside the 18-yard box into the top right corner.
Atlanta United 2 (1-2-0, 3 points) returns to play on Sunday, April 21 when it hosts FC Cincinnati 2 at Fifth Third Stadium (3:00 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:
- Ronald Hernández made his season debut for ATL UTD 2.
- Ronald Hernández tied for first in shots taken in tonight's match with three.
- Kaiden Moore made his professional debut and first start for ATL UTD 2.
Stats:
Shots: 11 - 10 Atlanta
Shots on target: 2 - 8 Philadelphia
Corner kicks: 7 - 5 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 24 - 16 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 89% - 74.4%
Possession: 63% - 37%
Scoring:
PHI – Chris Donovan (Vasquez) 18'
PHI – Edward Davis 49'
PHI – Chris Olney 54'
PHI – Chris Donovan (Vasquez) 65'
PHI – Kyle Tucker 81'
Disciplinary:
ATL – Matt Edwards 🟨 4’
PHI – Giovanny Sequera 🟨 73'
ATL – Efraín Morales 🟨 74'
ATL – Karim Tmimi 🟨 76'
PHI – Sanders Ngabo 🟨 85'
PHI – Chris Donovan 🟨 90'+2'
