ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta started the game with a bit of a disadvantage, with only five players available on the bench as opposed to the normal seven-man bench allowed in Major League Soccer. Atlanta United Head Coach Frank De Boer was proud of the teams’ auspicious victory in the face of this adversity, as evidenced by his statement, “I think we had a good start in the first minute when we played against 11 men.” He continued, “I had a very good feeling about that, also it continued when we played against 10.” The Five Stripes played with composure and focus shutting out Houston for their ninth clean sheet of the season. The shutout breaks goalie Brad Guzan’s personal record, also giving him the lead overall goalies in MLS this season.
The first half of play was one-sided as the teams went into the half with Atlanta up 2-0 over Houston. Atlanta had 12 total shots, eight off-target, three on Target, one block and a dominant 71.5% of the possession at the half. The Dynamo struggled throughout the first half, having just 28.5% of possession and one shot on target. Atlanta led in total duels won at 21-17.
Penalties hurt the Houston Dynamo early in the game. Alberth Elis was shown a yellow card in the sixth minute and then a red card after bumping the referee. Alberth was then ejected from the game after being issued a full red card in the seventh minute. Houston played the remainder of the match with 10 men, giving them a severe disadvantage for the remainder of the match. Atlanta United took the lead in the 27th minute by Darlington Nagbe, assisted by Julian Gressel. This was Nagbe’s first goal of the season and his first since joining the team last year. Atlanta United would then score a second unanswered point in the 29th minute by Brandon Vasquez to go up 2-0 before the half.
Josef Martinez scored in the 65th minute, which marks the sixth straight game he has scored in. Martinez would then go on to score another goal in the 79th minute, making it his 15th goal this season. This would take Atlanta United up 4-0. Julian Gressel then scored his fourth goal of the season in the 88th minute to make the score 5-0. Josef was named man of the match, ending the game with two goals, eight shots with three on target.
Atlanta’s dominance lasted throughout the entirety of play with 23 shots, 8 on target, 70.4% of the possession and leading 40-17 in duels won. Houston could not come out of their slump with only five total shots and only one on target and only was able to hold possession 29.6% of the match.
Atlanta has bounced back in a big way after a disappointing loss to Seattle last Sunday. The victory advances United to 10-8-3 on the season, firmly in the playoff hunt as they look to defend their MLS Cup crown.
Atlanta United will next play DC United on Sunday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST.
Written by Marcus Jones
Image Credit: Henry Gomez / The SkyBoat
