Atlanta United gives up late goal, draws with Houston in Rob Valentino’s coaching debut

The biggest negative was Houston’s Latif Blessing’s tying goal, unmarked at the far post, in the 89th minute.

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Valentino cut back to Brad Guzan in goal with four defenders in front of him consisting of Brooks Lennon, Noah Cobb, Derrick Williams and Caleb Wiley. The midfield consisted of Thiago Almada, Tristan Muyumba and Dax McCarty, and the front three were Rios, Silva and Edwin Mosquera. Five starters were unavailable due to international call-ups, injuries or pending sales. This group includes winger Saba Lobjanidze, midfielder Bartosz Slisz and central defenders Luis Abram and Stian Gregersen. Giorgos Giakoumakis, the team’s top scorer, was unavailable as he is being sold to Cruz Azul.

It took less than five minutes for Houston to expose Atlanta United’s defense.

Unsurprisingly, it came from a free kick, which can lead to a lack of concentration, which has plagued Atlanta United this season.

Hector Herrera took a corner to the near post, where Griffin Dorsey hit it with his right heel onto the crossbar. The rebound went to the far post, where former Atlanta United player Franco Escobar was unmarked and hit an easy header across the goal and inside to give Houston a 1–0 lead. The corner came about because of a Houston counter that was thwarted by a last-second touch from Lennon.

It was the sixth set-piece goal allowed by Atlanta United this season. It was the third time this season that Atlanta United had allowed the first goal at home. The team was 0-2-0 in those matches.

Mosquera appeared injured around the 12th minute. He was replaced by Luke Brennan in the 18th minute.

Atlanta United tied the game at 1 in the 25th minute with a goal that wasn’t pretty but at least it wasn’t a talking point on expected goals. It started with Guzan sending the ball deep into Houston’s half for Rios to chase down. He collected the ball from Micael dos Santos and passed to Brennan, who played the ball to Almada, whose point-blank shot was saved by goalkeeper Steve Clark. The rebound came to Rios, who shot with his right foot. It was his second goal this season.

Valentino spoke Thursday about trying to create more transition opportunities. Guzan’s long kicks are certainly seen as a way to create situations where Atlanta United players can run towards defenders.

Silva gave Atlanta United a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute by hitting a right-footed curler from a very tight angle. Silva faced two defenders. He beat the first. The second tried to pass to the first. Silva intercepted it and had a clear but difficult shooting angle a few meters from the baseline. It was his second goal this season.

Oddly enough, all three goals featured a backheel pass.

More importantly, in a possible sign of growth, Atlanta United held that lead for the next few minutes. Giving up goals minutes after scoring has also been a problem for Atlanta United this season. In the final minutes, Williams blocked a shot heading towards the corner and a few minutes later, Guzan saved a point-blank header.

Atlanta United finally fell back when Brennan failed to mark Blessing as he made a run between defenders.

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Atlanta United’s 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 at DC United, 7:30 p.m.

June 22 in Saint-Louis, 8:30 p.m.

June 29 c. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.

July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.

July 9 against Indy Eleven in the US Open Cup

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

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

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

July 26 against DC United in the League Cup, 7:30 p.m.

August 4 against Santos Laguna in the League 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 against Miami, 7:30 p.m.

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

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

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

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

October 19 in Orlando, 6 p.m.