Atlanta United loses momentum on away trip

To get back on track and give themselves a chance, Dax McCarty said he and his teammates must show character.

“We have to make sure that the mistakes we made in those two away games don’t happen again,” he said. “We’ve really tightened things up, especially away from home. Defensively, staying compact, and we’ve let that slip in those last two games. And those are little things that we can improve on individually, but also collectively.”

It could have been worse. Both New England and Real Salt Lake had their goals disallowed for offside.

The unfortunate part of these results and performances is that Atlanta United dominated New England in the second half in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and largely dominated Real Salt Lake in the first half on Saturday. The work that had allowed the team to create a four-game unbeaten streak seemed to be paying off.

But the issues, particularly decision-making and concentration, that have plagued this team for seasons and perhaps been alleviated during the unbeaten run, returned in these two games.

The Revs’ goals came because Atlanta United failed to make a tackle or track a runner.

Real Salt Lake’s goals were the result of a “choose your own adventure” style of defending on set pieces.

Real Salt Lake scored in the 43rd second of the match because two players were a few meters from the goal in the penalty area.

Atlanta United rallied thanks to a goal from Saba Lobjanidze, one of eight shots to two for Real Salt Lake in the first half.

And then came the set pieces for Real Salt Lake. The first goal scored was unlucky for Atlanta United. The ball bounced around in the box until it was slammed into the back of the net by Braian Ojeda in the 59th minute.

The second shot may have epitomized Atlanta United’s defensive efforts this season. Cristian Arango, the league’s leading scorer, was fouled 25 yards from goal on the right side of the field. Both teams prepared for the free kick. Meanwhile, Arango positioned himself on the left side of Real Salt Lake’s attacking line, a few yards from the top of the penalty area. He then called for a teammate to come in and replaced him, and he moved further left to define a new end of the line. That teammate did indeed intercept Atlanta United’s Brooks Lennon, preventing him from reaching Arango, giving him space to run onto the free kick and head it into the bottom right corner of the goal in the 68th minute.

Alexandros Katranis was one of two Real Salt Lake players to open the scoring in the top half of the penalty area on the third goal. Katranis curled a shot into the right corner to put Atlanta United in a difficult position (3-1). Jay Fortune was seen rushing towards Katranis late in the game. It is unclear whether Katranis was Fortune’s defender or if he was the only one who recognized the danger, albeit too late, and moved to try to block it. Valentino said after the game that he did not want to go into detail and the responsibilities of each player when defending a free kick.

“It’s the little things that make the difference in games like this, in games where we have experience,” McCarty said. “We definitely had experience to win this game tonight. We let the experience slip away and we let it slip away with, obviously, poor set-piece defense and a poor start to the second half. So we didn’t have a lot of time to soak in that experience, learn from that experience, move on and get ready for the Open Cup.”

According to whoscored.com, Atlanta United have conceded nine goals from set pieces this season. That’s the fourth-most goals in MLS. The team has yet to score a single goal.

Executing set pieces will be an easy way for Indy Eleven to topple Atlanta United on Tuesday. To win and regain momentum, Atlanta United must stay focused.

“The best part is we have another game to play right away,” Valentino said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m taking it as a challenge. It’s tough. Nobody ever said it was easy. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. There’s no time to waste feeling sorry for yourself.”

“I’m not going to be someone who lets results dictate who I am and who we are. That’s important. I understand that we have to get results and I understand that, but I also have to think about what we can actually change right now. That’s for me, we’ve been given that opportunity.”

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Atlanta United 2024 Schedule

February 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in US Open Cup

May 11 DC United 3, Atlanta United 2

May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0

May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1

May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in US Open Cup

May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0

May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1

June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2

June 15 Atlanta United 2, Houston 2

June 19 Atlanta United 1, DC United 0

June 22 Atlanta United 1, St. Louis 1

June 29 Atlanta United 2, Toronto 1

July 3 New England 2, Atlanta United 1

July 6 Real Salt Lake 5, Atlanta United 2

July 9 vs. Indy Eleven in US Open Cup

July 13 in Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 vs NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.

July 26 vs. DC United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.

August 4 against Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.

August 24 at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.

August 31 in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

September 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

September 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.

September 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

September 28 in Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

October 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

October 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

October 19 in Orlando, 6 p.m.