Match Day 5 Recap: Atlanta United at FC Cincinnati
Five Stripes battle back to earn 2-2 draw
Match Day 5 Recap: Atlanta United at FC Cincinnati
Five Stripes battle back to earn 2-2 draw
It was bright blue skies, royal blue Cincinnati kits, and light blue Atlanta Resurgens kits that greeted the fans to MLS match day five Saturday afternoon in Ohio.
Atlanta was looking to get a positive result over FC Cincinnati after seeing the last six meetings end in three losses and three ties for the Five Stripes.
When the final whistle sounded, it was another 2-2 draw between Atlanta United and FC Cincinnati. Emmanuel Latte Lath turned in a Saba Lobjanidze cross for the opening goal and Saba forced a Cincinnati own goal to share the points in the match.
Both teams ran out heavily rotated line ups from normal in this match between two teams looking for a spark in their early-season results. Atlanta was missing 10 players due to international duty and injury while Cincinnati also were missing key players due call ups, illness, and red card suspension. Atlanta sitting on just four points after four games was off to the second-lowest points total after four matches in franchise history (2 points after 4 matches in 2019).
Making his full MLS debut was Atlanta’s homegrown midfielder Will Reilly.
The match started brightly and Atlanta’s Alexey Miranchuk rattled a shot off the cross bar in the 4th minute of a wide-open spell of play. FC Cincinnati created their best scoring chance just three minutes later as they forced a point-blank save by Brad Guzan off a flicked free kick. The match stayed free-flowing up until the 15th minute when both teams settled into a more controlled, conservative style of play.
The major happening of the first half for Atlanta was Tristan Muyumba being injured in the 38th minute requiring the midfielder to be stretchered off the field. Cayman Togashi subbed in for Muyumba to fill the deep, holding midfield role. The half ended knotted 0-0.
The second half opened up just like the first half and from this wide-open play Atlanta found the net on a quick restart of play from a throw in.
As the ball went out of play in the Cincinnati defensive third, Togashi grabbed the ball and flipped a quick throw in to the streaking Saba Lobjanidze up the right flank. Saba drove into the box on the dribble and cut a ball back off the end line to Emmanuel Latte Lath who deftly guided the ball with the inside of his left foot past the sprawling Cincy keeper into the back-post netting. 1-0 Atlanta United in the 50th minute.
Saba again went on a dazzling dribble in the 58th minute inside the Cincinnati defensive third and Saba forced a highlight-reel save out of the Cincy keeper diving at full extension to his right to parry the ball just enough to see it kiss off the far post into safety. After this Saba shot, the match momentum swung in the favor of the hosts and Atlanta found themselves defending wave after wave of Cincinnati pressure over the next 10 minutes.
FC Cincinnati then capitalized on all this pressure as they won a free kick at the top of the box and then leveled the match on the ensuing free kick in the 70th minute. The Evander free kick took an unlucky deflection off the wall that wrong-footed Guzan to evade the polar bear and find the match all square again.
The match didn’t stay level for long as Cincinnati won the ball high, quickly ran at a scrambling Atlanta defensive line, and then slotted the ball to their lethal striker Evander who rocketed the ball into the net in the 75th minute.
Atlanta swapped Mateusz Klich for Matt Edwards in the 80th minute and really pressed the tempo of play over the final minutes of the match.
In the 88th minute, it was again Saba on the right flank dribbling deep in the Cincinnati half that created a dangerous crossing situation. The cross by Saba was misplayed by the recovering Cincinnati defender who steered the ball into his own net for an own goal. 2-2 with 5 minutes of stoppage time to be added.
With the draw Atlanta how has collected 5 points on the season with a 1-2-2 record.
Next Saturday, March 29, Atlanta United hosts NYC FC at 7:30 PM in the first of three-straight home matches.