Atlanta United fell to Columbus Crew 3-1 on Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alexey Miranchuk scored his fourth goal of the season, but three second half goals by the visitors sealed the points. Homegrown midfielder Will Reilly made his season debut, while fellow Homegrown midfielder Jay Fortune made his season debut as a second-half substitute.
Neither team was able to create many scoring opportunities in the first half. Atlanta's best look came through Steven Alzate, whose long-range effort was spilled by Patrick Schulte, but Columbus' defense reacted first to the loose ball. Lucas Hoyos made two saves to keep the match scoreless at the break.
The visitors took control of the match with two quick goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. In the 48th minute, Wessam Abou Ali finished a cross from Max Arfsten with a header into the bottom left corner for the lead. Five minutes later, Abou Ali doubled the advantage with a strike from about 20 yards out into the top corner beyond the reach of Hoyos.
Atlanta looked to respond and cut into the deficit in the 60th minute. After good combination play at the top of the box, ElÃas Báez took a shot that was saved by Schulte into the path of Miguel Almirón. The captain's rebound effort was saved again by Schulte, only to fall to Miranchuk who finished for his fourth goal of the season. The Crew immediately restored their two-goal lead off the restart after Andres Herrera crossed the ball across the six-yard box to an onrushing Arfsten who finished from close range for the 3-1 lead in the 61st minute.
The 5-Stripes tried to get back into the game but weren't able to create a lot of clear-cut scoring opportunities down the stretch. Hoyos made a couple of stops to keep the visitors off the scoresheet in the final 15 minutes of the contest. In stoppage time, Atlanta head coach Tata Martino received a red card after a sideline incident.
Atlanta United (1-4-1, 4 points) returns to action Saturday, April 11 when it travels to take on Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field (8:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available on Apple TV.
