Bouncing back from a lopsided loss is not something Atlanta United fans or players are used to happening that often. But it’s something any team has to overcome from time to time –– and the talk at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground on Friday was about the importance of bouncing back.
“To see how many mistakes we made in the first 9-10 minutes, was quite embarrassing,” Frank de Boer told reporters. “We have to understand that this cannot happen again… We talked about it, and the good thing about playing in a league is you have more games ahead of you and can recover from a bad performance. You always take this with you, but hopefully we will have a good response on Sunday.”
“I think obviously we are disappointed,” added captain Michael Parkhurst. “It was a terrible half, but we have to own it and look at ourselves in the mirror and learn from it. There is no time to dwell on it, you have to look forward and prepare for the next match and used that as motivation.”
The good news for the Five Stripes is they don’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption, with Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium just days later this Sunday.
“If you have a whole week, then you dwell on it for a few days, or you may even overanalyze it,” Parkhurst said. “Thankfully there is no time for that. We look towards Red Bulls, and recovering and preparing for them. Knowing that it’s a big game in the standings, it’s a home game, it’s going to be a big crowd with national television. We learn our lessons and we own it, but most important right now is to prepare for Red Bulls and make sure we have a good performance.”
“You look back at how you felt in situations like this before,” added Julian Gressel. “One game that comes to mind is the season opener last season at Houston. After that game, we went on a run of seven or eight wins and ultimately went on to have a great season and great playoff run. We obviously hope to draw from that experience in a positive way, and move on and make the best of it.”
Atlanta United’s chance at redemption comes against a team they’ve never beaten in regular season play: the New York Red Bulls. But the Five Stripes came on top when it counted, with a 3-0 win in last year’s postseason. So the team knows the challenge they present, and hope they can do the same as the last time these two faced in Atlanta.
“The Red Bulls are one of the tougher teams to play against in MLS,” Parkhurst said. “It’s high pressure and high intensity and you have to be ready for the fight. They like to make it a physical battle, and we have to match that. We expect an intense, physical game cause that’s what it always is against the Red Bulls. It’s on us to make sure we are ready for that.”
“We always want to beat the Red Bulls,” Gressel said. “It would be a good time to get that first one in the regular season, especially at home. We want to push on and make the best out of it. Take those feelings, positive and negative, with us and make sure we don’t have those negative feelings again. We have to be ready and hopefully get a win.”
There will be a big addition to the lineup for Atlanta United, with Josef Martinez expected to be back in the roster after his return from Copa America. While Tito Villalba and Ezequiel Barco remain out with injury, Martinez’s addition to the front line can be a game-changer.
“His influence is normally quite big, because everybody is counting on him,” De Boer said. Not only our team, but the opponents as well. I think Brandon (Vazquez) scored six goals in five games (all competitions) so he did a great job. But Josef brings a spirit to the team. Everybody is alert, his teammates are alert and that’s a good sign. I love that he is back of course.”
But more than who lines up, they say it’s about the mentality of the roster on the field. And kickoff can’t come soon enough for a team that is eager to prove Wednesday’s road loss was an outlier.
“The sooner the better,” De Boer said. “So that we can show that this wasn’t what we expect, from the team, the coaching staff, the club’s perspective. We have to show that we are a better team.”
Sunday’s match kicks off at 2 p.m. ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Click here to get tickets, or click here for all the ways to tune in.
