A late header from Daniel Ríos wasn't quite enough to pull Atlanta United out of a two-goal deficit and the 5-Stripes fell on the road to New England Revolution 2-1 at Gillette Stadium Wednesday night.
The match was almost a tale of two halves for Atlanta United. After conceding twice in the first half, the group came out of the halftime break with a little more fervor and bounce as they fought to try and salvage a road result.
"It was a lot more free-flowing in the second half," wingback Brooks Lennon said. "The game opened up a little bit more for us and we created a lot of chances that we didn't end up finishing and ultimately it led to a loss."
The night started off well for Atlanta United, and the visitors took the first shot of the match in the opening minutes. A long cross arrived at the feet of Caleb Wiley. The Homegrown whipped it quickly to Xande Silva anticipating in the box. The Portuguese attacker put a solid strike on frame that was deflected over goal for a corner kick in the second minute of the match.
As fruitful as the opening minutes were for Atlanta United, it was the home side that opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The Revs, playing directly, moved the ball quickly up the pitch. After receiving a long vertical pass from DeJuan Jones, Giacomo Vrioni slowed down to bait Derrick Williams. A final cut and the striker delivered his fourth goal in as many matches for the Revs to make it 1-0 New England.
In the 45th minute, New England doubled their lead. After working the ball around in their attacking third, Noel Buck chipped a ball with his left foot toward the far post. Vrioni leapt to finish and lock up his first-half brace.
"In that moment, we were defending crosses, defending a little bit stronger inside the box and then in one quick moment, they pull off us," interim head coach Rob Valentino said in his post-match press conference. "We talked about being man-for-man inside the box there and not letting guys get that inch, and they got it, and they punished us."
Atlanta United nearly cut into New England’s lead during first-half stoppage time. Bartosz Slisz, fresh off international duty with Poland, dribbled toward goal then ripped a shot with his right foot. New England goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic blocked the firm strike. The 5-Stripes were close to capitalizing on the proceeding corner kick when Jay Fortune struck a volley on a bouncing ball that appeared on its way toward the corner of the net. Ivacic dove to make another difficult save and preserve New England’s lead.
Atlanta found a good opportunity in front of them in the 61st minute. Ríos intercepted a pass from New England in Atlanta’s attacking third and touched the ball to Fortune. The midfielder dribbled forward and took a shot from around the top of the 18-yard box, however the strike was not enough to test Ivacic. Atlanta United nearly flicked the ball on a corner kick a few minutes later, but once again Ivacic had it handled.
Ivacic finished with six saves on the night.
Atlanta center backs Derrick Williams and Stian Gregersen tracked back and came sliding in to stop what nearly was Vrioni's hat trick in the 74th minute. The next minute, the New England striker appeared to get his hat trick after all when he finished on a breakaway. The goal did not count due to offside.
After sending on some reinforcements and fresh legs, Atlanta United got a goal back in the 91st minute. Ronald Hernández, who entered the match as a substitute, served a superb lob across the box with his left foot. Ríos, hanging behind his defender at the back post, redirected Hernández's delivery into goal for the striker's fourth goal of the MLS season.
"The second half had more momentum our way, but still they created transitions in transition, so we have to try to eliminate that as well," Valentino said.
Valentino had some pieces added to his roster for Wednesday's match. The three players away on international duty at the UEFA European Championship and Copa América have all returned to the team and were available for selection. Slisz (Poland) and Luis Abram (Peru) were in the starting XI. Saba Lobjanidze was available off the bench and entered the match as a second-half substitute.
Thiago Almada was not with the group in Foxborough. Fortune filled the no. 10 position in Valentino's starting XI.
The result flipped for each side as the two entered their second MLS meeting of the season coming off vastly different finishes. Four days ago, Atlanta earned an electric 2-1 victory over Toronto FC to extend the team’s four-match unbeaten streak. Meanwhile, New England entered the midweek match looking to bounce back after a 5-1 drubbing by reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew.
For Atlanta United, the final pass and clinical finishing were just off the mark at various points of Wednesday’s match. Lennon, for example, was able to get the ball wide but was missing the connection with runners inside the box. Even with some missed opportunities, the team finished the night with 20 shots.
“The positive is that there’s chances there, but the expected goals and chances, they don’t mean anything to me unless they go in the back of the net," Valentino said.
New England Revolution | Atlanta United | |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 12 | 20 |
Shots on target | 5 | 7 |
Corner kicks | 3 | 12 |
Fouls committed | 5 | 7 |
xG | 1.1 | 1.9 |
Possession | 46% | 54% |
Passing accuracy | 83% | 89% |
Up next - Atlanta United's double matchweek heads west
The turnaround is quick for the 5-Stripes following the midweek match in Foxborough. Atlanta United's long road trip continues through the Fourth of July holiday with a matchup against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Atlanta United sill be without Stian Gregersen on Saturday. The center back picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in New England and will be suspended for the club's next match.
