Atlanta United vs. Houston Dynamo
Atlanta United Draws Houston 2-2
Silva, Rios Score Goals
Atlanta Latinos Magazine – The winless streak continues. It’s now been seven straight since Atlanta United last won a home match, after it tied Houston Dynamo 2-2 Saturday night at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
It was the first match of interim head coach Rob Valentino’s second tenure. Valentino took over in July of 2021 when Gabriel Heinze was fired. Then on June 3 of this year, he was appointed interim manager again when the club released Gonzalo Pineda.
The game got off to an inauspicious start. At the 5’ mark, Houston’s Franco Escobar headed home a goal for the 1-0 lead. It came off the game’s first corner kick where an initial Dynamo shot bounced off the top center post. The fortuitous carrom found the head of Escobar, who played for Atlanta United from 2018 to 2021.
Atlanta tied the match 1-1 in the 25’. Daniel Rios found the back of the net off a rebound from Thiago Almada’s blocked shot. The goal was made possible by an excellent defensive play by Rios, who stole the ball from the Houston defender.
Atlanta then took the lead in the 53’. Xande Silva drilled home an unbelievable shot from an extreme side angle after beating two Dynamo defenders. It was Silva’s second goal in as many games.
Atlanta nearly held on for the 2-1 win, but Houston had other plans. In the 89’, Latif Blessing scored the equalizer on a beautiful assist by Coco Carrasquilla.
One major positive from the match was the play of Atlanta United’s Luke Brennan. He came on in the 18’ when Edwin Mosquera had to leave early due to injury. Brennan brought a spark to the team with his high energy and inspiring play. After the match, Valentino spoke his praises. “What Lukey did was awesome. He showed bravery. He went at them like he was a nuisance. I felt like he caused them a lot of problems, and that’s great to see.”
Brennan is a homegrown player for United as a member of the club’s inaugural Academy class. He debuted in MLS in June of 2023 against New York City FC.
Atlanta has a short turnaround until its next match , as it travels to play D.C. United on Wednesday night, June 19th.
Notes…Escobar’s goal was the seventh of his MLS career…Atlanta now has one win in its last twelve starts…attendance was announced as 42,630.
