Coming off traveling to Carson, California to take of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Atlanta United were back on the on road to face off against their regional foes, Charlotte FC. The road teams in these matchups often rise to the occasion. Back in June, Charlotte walked away with a 3-2 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta’s last win against Charlotte came at Bank of America Stadium in March of 2023.
Atlanta United earned a much needed three points on the road in a 1-0 win. Homegrown Jay Fortune scores his first Atlanta United goal. This is their third road win and eigth win on the season.
Atlanta United wins the game with a stroke of Fortune
Much like Atlanta’s previous match against the Galaxy, the 0-0 stalemate was not broken open till the second half. After a flurry of chances in the first half and the opening minutes of the second, many of which were saved by CLT keeper Kristijan Kahlina, the 5-Stripes got on the board in the 59th minute of the match.
It seemed fitting that the first goal, a reward for all the opportunities created, would be scored by homegrown Jay Fortune – a player whose hard work and growth has shined throughout this season.
The goal was only three touches. Brooks Lennon got the ball the Xande Silva. Fortune after getting the touch from Sillva ripped the shot from about twenty yards out to the lower corner of the net.
"Jay’s ability to break on the dribble helped that but there was other players, without touching it, helped in that movement in the buildup to the goal. So I was happy that I felt like it was a real team goal and Jay gets all the credit for the finish, it was a fantastic finish," said interim head coach Rob Valentino at the post game press conference.
Miranchuk gains his footing
The vision of Alexey Miranchuk was on full display for this match. One of the qualities that was promised when Atlanta United acquired the midfielder during the secondary transfer window was his ability to create scoring chances. Not only for himself but also for the players around him. Miranchuk previously played for Atalanta BC of Italy’s Serie A. His impressive resume includes winning the 2023-24 Europa League with Atalanta. Among No. 10s and wingers, Miranchuk ranked fourth in the world in expected goal contributions last season.
Many of the 5-Stripes best chances in the first half involved Miranchuk. In the 13th minute of the match, his shot from the central box went over the net. Both of Saba Lobjanidze’s best opportunities were assisted by Miranchuk. The first one of them was in the 39th minute of the first half. While fighting off a counterattack by Charlotte, Miranchuk got the ball to Lobjanidze, who headed the ball towards the net. It took a great diving save from Kahlina to keep the game even.
"It was fantastic, it was good to get him integrated into the team as quick as possible," said Valentino. "He’s going to help us a lot down the stretch. His teammates getting used to him, him getting used to his teammates, he pushes himself to a whole different level.
During the last match against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Miranchuk and homegrown Jay Fortune showed flashes of chemistry together. It was no different for this one.
Despite jumping on a moving train by coming in at a pivotal point in Atlanta's season, Miranchuk has slotted right in. He played a stong 90 minutes for his first start.
Brad Guzan and Kristijan Kahlina keep their respective teams in the game
It was almost a tale of two matches for opposite ends of the pitch at Bank of America Stadium. While both keepers had strong showings, each of them shined at different points of the match. In the first half of the match, Kahlina had to make several timely stops to keep his club within shooting distance of a win. Two of them against Saba Lobjanidze. As well as one against Bartosz Slisz during stoppage time. Kahlina also stopped a chance by Tyler Wolff, who came into the match in the 90th minute, from in close.
In the second half, once scoring the lone goal, Atlanta United had to brave a plethora of chances from Charlotte. 5-Stripes's keeper Brad Guzan made several stops on Patrick Agyemang, the most impressive one coming in the 85th minute of the match.
“It was a good result, I’m sure as Rob probably said there are times when in the game we had to suffer, we had to defend, we had to do a lot of dirty work tonight and that’s part of it, that’s part of going on the road and finding a way to get a result," said Guzan after the match."
Charlotte FC | Atlanta United | |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 12 | 19 |
Shots on target | 6 | 6 |
Corner kicks | 3 | 4 |
Fouls committed | 4 | 4 |
xG | 0.9 | 2.1 |
Possession | 52% | 48% |
Passing accuracy | 90% | 90% |
What’s next for Atlanta United?
After back-to-back away games, Atlanta United’s next two matches will be at home at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The first one on September 14 versus another familiar regional rival, Nashville SC. Atlanta will be hosting Latin Heritage Night, as well as after the match, fans attending can stay to watch Atlanta United’s Unified Team.
The next home match will be against Inter Miami FC on Wednesday, September 18. The full venue match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
