Atlanta United vs. New England
Atlanta United Ties New England 3-3
A Wildly Entertaining Match
Atlanta Latinos Magazine – The fans sure got their money’s worth. A mid-week clash between two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference proved to be wildly entertaining. New England took an early lead, going up two goals in the first half. Atlanta stormed back with three of their own goals, only to have their hearts ripped out in the final minutes by a late New England goal that netted a 3-3 draw.
New England scored its first goal 23 seconds into the game. Carles Gil capitalized on a poor pass from Atlanta’s goalkeeper to convert the easy opportunity. It was the earliest goal in any MLS match this season.
The Revolution added its second goal in the 37’. Bobby Wood headed in a cross that found the back of the net. It was his fifth goal of the season. Assists were given to Emmanuel Boateng and DeJuan Jones.
Atlanta would storm back with three consecutive goals in the second half. The first goal was scored by Giorgos Giakoumakis in the 56’. He pounced on a blocked shot to sneak a shot past the goalkeeper.
Thiago Almada then tied the match in the 74’. His goal deflected off a defender but still managed to find the back of the net. Matheus Rossetto was credited with his first assist of the season.
In the 84’, Miguel Berry subbed in for Giakoumakis. Berry wasted little time in finding his first goal of the season. In the 87’ he blasted a laser beam from 30 yards out that gave Atlanta its first lead of the night and what looked like the game winner.
But the roller coaster ride was not over. In stoppage time, with less than two minutes remaining, New England’s Gil tied the match up again by tallying his second goal of the night.
In the post-match media conference, Pineda took the blame for the early goal. He said that tactically he starts the attack from the back. This puts a lot of pressure on his defenders and goalkeepers to handle the ball and make passes, and that sometimes puts them in awkward and dangerous positions.
However, the defense continues to struggle. Atlanta leads the league in goals scored and goals given up. Brad Guan was back in goal for the second game since his return from the MCL injury. However, New England scored three goals on three shots on target.
Atlanta next plays at LAFC on Wednesday, June 7th.
Notes…Atlanta allowed the earliest goal in a game in its history…Giakoumakis is tied for second in the league in goals scored with nine, only one behind LAFC’s Denis Bouanga…Atlanta remains the MLS leader in assists with 8…attendance was announced as 42,915.
