Five Takes On The Five Stripes

1: it’s been a long time since Daddy’s visited his children and so it’s only fitting he bring them a gift in the form of a Goalazo. It was great to see Josef bag one, and even better to see him do it like that and EVEN EVEN better to see him do it against Orlando. That being said, it’s concerning to see him totally spent at the end of the match both physically and emotionally. It almost looked like he too was acknowledging where we are and how unlikely reaching the post season is becoming. 

 

2: I’m ok with taking risks going forward. I want it see it but, it has to result in chances. Apart from Josef’s and Moreno’s Goalazos, chance creation was not there in the first half. Pretty disappointing considering our last two games have had our highest chance creation. Yet somehow we score 2 tonight. 🤷‍♂️ 

 

3: Alec Kann is a tremendous shot stopper despite seeing 3 go into his net. It could’ve been double that. Look, I love Guz but do we really want him in between the sticks after not playing for a month? Do we really want to take Kann out of this rhythm? He’s been here for all the turmoil, the changes…..I personally would like to see Kann stay, at least for now. 

 

4: We still don’t do jack with corner kicks. We try training ground stuff 9/10 times and it comes to nothing 9/10 times. And we continue to get undone by them. Regularly. Routinely. 

 

5: We are an incomplete team. Both literally and metaphorically. It’s nice to see More o being more of that playmaker 10 and he does seem to be trusting himself more and more, trying stuff he wasn’t just a month ago. However, we just have too many injuries to too many key players. We can’t put together a full 90 minute performance on either side of the ball. It’s just not there for us this year. We’ll still be here. Our support will not waiver but I don’t see us playing much soccer in the Fall even with a new coach bump or a big money signing. 

1: Well I dare say that is the most consistent and threatening we have looked all season. We certainly haven’t created that many quality chances since……Philadelphia? I felt like we were finally a threat that had to be taken seriously at all times. A lot of that has to do with……

2: Marcelino Moreno was TREMENDOUS and gets my vote for MOTM. Shades of Miggy out there. He was running at Cincy’s back line, shooting on goal and dribbling past defenders for fun. That man is more nimble with a ball at his feet than I am without and that was on full display tonight. 

3: You know what pairs well with first starts? First goals. How about Ronald Hernandez getting on the pitch and putting one in. It was a wonderfully worked team goal which we haven’t seen in a REALLY long time. On the whole tonight, passing was better and we possessed the ball with menace and real attacking purpose. It looked like Hernandez took a knock at the end. Hopefully it’s nothing serious. We can’t take any more injuries. 

4: Kann is a great shot stopper. Even his backside saves goals 😆. As great as he is at keeping the balls out of the net he is terrible with his feet. Please Mr Kann, in the future, please don’t rely on your touch to outsmart an onrushing attacker. 

5: A draw is probably a fair result given the number of chances and some sheer luck that both sides had tonight. It’s a result and performance that can give fans hope and the team confidence. The sky is not falling. We still have it all to play for and let’s also keep in mind that this is FAR from a full strength roster. If we can put in another performance of this caliber on Saturday (big ask with match compression) with the players currently on hand, it bodes well for when everyone is back and god willing, healthy. 

1: Credit where credit is due. Cubo shot the ball, at the goal, with his foot and with his head. In all seriousness, despite not scoring, probably his best game so far. He had a number of shots on goal but converting chances is what matters and as per usual it ain’t happening. However you wanna look at it, his performance today will only reinforce Heinze’s decisions to keep starting him. Coupled with the fact that Jackson provided nothing when he was subbed on. Tho in Jackson’s defense, its real hard to get on the end of nothing. 

 

2: Pretty decent response after going down a goal in the first. Eve tho the goal was chalked off for offside, it was a nice move and would’ve been a very good goal. Overall, I was surprisingly pleased with the number of chances that we created in the first half. I did not see a team had thrown in the towel. I did in the 2nd. 

 

3: Machop Chol was out there chopping it up putting in a tremendous shift. He’s looked like our most consistently threatening player. He’s got an instinct for goals and positions himself well off the ball. He was just spent towards the end. 

 

4: The 2nd half looked like GA did two months ago, out of gas. We don’t have the quality, experience and strength to overcome adversity. We have lost every match when conceding first. I don’t know how that gets fixed right now. 

 

5: Josef. Heinze. Club. This is complicated. There’s a ton of views on it. A lot of opinions. Bunch of people up in their feelings. I’m one of them. To hear a deeper and totally rational dive into all of this drama, listen to the pod. 

1: Well, we certainly looked more up for it then our previous 3 matches. It does suck that we are at the point of being happy that we’re at least trying. Tho to be fair we’ve never faced this many absences and injuries. I’m not sure any club has in MLS. We applied the press in Nashville’s final third and actually did more than just stand there. We actually pressed, and we actually had some success in winning the ball hack a few times. This is something the 2’s have actually been doing pretty effectively. When the ball is turned over we have to win it back immediately or we are going to keep getting burned in Heinze’s system. It was better against Nashville. 

 

2: Undone by our old friend set pieces. I kind of expected them to be a problem with Miles and Guz out. I thought Alec Kann had a great game  but he might not have communicated as effectively as Guz does. Nashville players were left unmarked all night especially on the goal that was thankfully chalked off for offsides. There was 5 yards of space in each direction of Sapong. 

 

3: We showed heart and fight last night while also showing a Lack of quality with cross field balls, errant passes and missed timed runs. That’s to be expected when we are missing enough players from injury and call-ups to literally field an entire team. Looks like we can add Mo Adam’s to the trainers overwhelmed schedule too. We’ll also be missing Sosa due to yellow card accumulation and possibly Mulraney if that ridiculous red is not overturned. I was happy to at least see the team respond to adversity because adversity isn’t going way any time soon and we’re gonna have to find ways to grind out more than just draws. 

 

4: It takes a hand of god moment to sub out Cubo and low and behold, Conway scored minutes after coming on. The kids are alright. This should settle it going forward. Jackson should get the nod and Cubo should come in if both of Jackson’s legs are broken. Thank god Cubo didn’t get a touch on Walkes’ headed goal in the 5th minute because he was offside and it would have been taken away. 

 

5: The referee’s a wanker. Dickerson gave the explanation for the red that Mulraney committed a foul denying Leal a goal scoring opportunity. You’re damn right he denied him a goal scoring opportunity but it wasn’t a foul, it was just a well timed tackle. Mulraney gets to the ball first, wins it (WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE PLAYER MIND YOU) and then Leal goes over the top of Mulraney. Look, even if you wanted to call it a foul, it’s not DOGSO because Sosa had caught up to the play. PRO should be ashamed of themselves. Can’t wait to hear them explain this one away. Undoubtedly Atlanta will appeal and most likely win. Again. 

 

1: I’m not even going to bother calling out individual player performances here. I mean yes in the 19th minute Cubo had a great touch and turn and then once again, once he’s in the box he’s utterly useless and that continued throughout the match, as it does with Cubo. But this was an utter and total team collapse. Tho I will say Cubo continues to be employed with this club as a striker whose job it is to score goals and he continues to not fulfill those duties. In concept and on paper Cubo is great, in practice and on the pitch, not even close. 

 

2: Atlanta United right now are the case study in Murphy’s law. If it can go wrong, it will. Everything is working against us. I mean even Bello got injured towards the end which might put his Gold Cup call up into question. I guess you call that payback on Greggggggg for injuring Miles in 2019 😆. HonestlyI I absolutely hate it for him and I hope it’s just a light knock. If he can’t get success here I’d like to see him have a chance with the national team. Both for him personally and for us as a club when we eventually sell him. Player call ups, injuries, and lack of minutes from bench players are KILLING us. None of those things are really going to improve over the next month accept I guess minutes for bench players out of absolute necessity. The team is disjointed and out of sync. I mean my god, Miles Robinson didn’t step to Ignacio on the 2nd goal. He just let him shoot. It really does feel like the belief has gone out. 

 

3: We miss Hyndman like the city of Atlanta misses championships. We got beat centrally where dangerous attacking plays develop and caught us out. Neither Mo nor Tyler have seen any minutes this season so they can’t be expected to step in step so much that we don’t feel his absence. 

 

4: The introduction of Machop Chol was the most positive thing we saw all night. At least he was making dangerous runs into the box and even bringing a ball or two down and under control. He didn’t get anything on frame, but sheeeeit, he was doin more than Cubo. He certainly looked more threatening anyhow. He might actually be the man of the match. 

 

5: The transfer window won’t solve all the problems we have. This Heinze project just isn’t coming together. It’s really frustrating because it’s not entirely Heinze’s fault. To a certain degree he can only be as good as his available roster right? Yeah we were at full strength at the beginning of the season and yeah even the wins/results back then we would have liked to have been more dominate but at that early stage, the players were still learning the system. We just did not hire a coach that’s going to change the system, or simplify things because of circumstances, like at all. It’s just now, we have reached a point of seeing neither results nor performance and that’s a really big problem. The higher the expectation, the harder the fall. The goals and aspirations for this club were set high from the start, and they were met. We are experiencing back to back years of not meeting those standards. At some point, the people at the top, Carlos and Darren, are going to have to be held accountable for our shortcomings. 

1: 20 East at 5:00 in the afternoon has more going forward than we do. It’s not that we look afraid to go forward it’s that we know we have nothing and have sort of accepted it. It wasn’t until the 41st minute that we can crossed a dangerous ball into the box. Truly our best chances came from just lobbing in a couple dangerous balls into the box and creating a bit of chaos. There wasn’t much to speak of from the build up or creative play. 

2: You know when the biggest cheer of the first half comes from a deflected free kick that we have problems. I’m all for “trust the process”but results have got to come or else of course the process is going to get questioned. Missing key players hurts a lot but find me a season where a team isn’t missing players. You have to problem solve and play through it. Hopefully some of that problem solving comes in the transfer window. 

3: Cubo emotes strong “You’re doing great honey” vibes. That’s it. That’s the take. 

4: At some point Jackson Conway, and other bench players, have to start seeing minutes. How are we supposed to have a deep roster if they don’t. Look, we’re not seeing training day in and day out but Heinze’s comments about Conway have been largely positive so what’s the hesitation? Give him a 20 minute run out. I understand not subbing him in the dying minutes because from about 78th on, we actually came alive, but damn. Sub out Cubo and bring him on in the 70th and see what he can do. At the same time, outside of Conway, there’s no one really on the bench who can come in and even have the potential to change things in any meaningful attacking way. 

5: The summer transfer window is coming and we’ve got to make some moves. Without knowing where exactly we stand with our budget/cap here is what I’d like to see 

Cubo-move on

Damm-move on

Barco-move on

fill Lisandro’s spot

1: Cubo is like my dog with her food at night, he refuses to finish. HIs work rate and effectiveness outside the 18 and final third is great but I don’t believe he could walk a ball into the net. It doesn’t matter how good the ball in is, he can’t convert and it’s infuriating. 

 

2: Set piece defending is much improved. Man marking was effective and no Philly player was able to find space for a free header by getting in front of their defender. This has been a weak point of ours so I’m VERY happy to see improvement here. 

 

3: Barco was surprisingly quiet. I expected more of a jolt and impact from little boat motoring around the pitch. I didn’t really see him making many runs off the ball and the few touches he had didn’t lead to anything. With Josef and Hyndmam out and Cubo being what he is, this is more opportunity for him to be the showcase piece he needs to be. It wasn’t on display in the first half. He was much better in the 2nd. 

 

4: We have to  start seeing matches out. The equalizing goal from Philly is #SCTOP10.  Glesnes should’ve been closed down sooner, but you can take nothing away from that strike. It’s not the first time he’s hit from range. The first goal tho, that’s a switch off immediately after scoring and can’t happen. Blowing back to back dos a cero leads in the final 15 minutes is demoralizing and sows doubt into the minds of us supporters and I’m sure the players as well. I would like to see a more defensive shape/subs from Heinze when we’re up a goal or two and trying to see a game out. I love the brand of football he has us playing but sometimes you just gotta sit back and a see a game out. Fresh legs and sharp minds are needed. 

 

5: I’m proud of my club for continuing to make priorities a priority. Releasing a kit (albeit with typos) that focuses on unification, diversity and equality reinforces the founding principals of Atlanta United. Results on the pitch may be inconsistent year to year but what ATL UTD stands for has always remained consistent and that was on full display yet again today with the kits, tifo and Dr Bernice King hitting the spike. 

1: Route One United. Robinson was like an overturned brinks truck dropping dimes. That ball to Moreno....with 3 defenders.....c’mon. Great finish from Moreno as well. He had another great direct ball to Mulraney as well. Route one hasn’t been a big part of our game but I like that we added it in this game. It gave Nashville big problems. Miles and Bello are the case studies for what our development system can do and produce. They will both move on this year or next for big sums to big clubs. That’s massively important for longevity of this club. 

 

2: Heinze has to be given a Ton of credit. He’s held firm. He’s been true to his philosophy and made minor adjustments along the way. IE the miles long ball we saw today. It’s fair to say that the FO has been a bit on the Chaotic side as of late with the Atheltic article and now the “mutually agreed” 🙄 departure of McDonough. Despite all of those issues and drama, the progress of this team has been steady and uninterrupted. Heinze gets all the credit in the world for that. 

3: Five Takes influences everything. The two players we’ve been asking more of deliver! The second goal came from a terrific run by Moreno and then a decent enough ball from Bello but it was nothing amazing. Eric Lopez was just able to sneak into the box and have a cheeky little finish. And Nashville let him. He just ran by the defenders. Lopez had a big leap forward today. 

4: Chance creation is still not to the level we want it or need it to be at. We’re talking about good quality chances and better service for Josef, not just balls over the top. We need more chances created from the build-up. Today was better in that regard. Now we just need it to continue. Besides set pieces, it’s what we need to work on the most. 

5: Terrible time to get a draw to the kings of the draw. Definitely feels like a loss. We had control. We got the 2nd goal, finally. We were going into the break with a big result against the best team in the league and a solid home win and we switched off for 5 minutes. Results like this worry me. They can get into players heads because now it’s like, well we know 1 goal sure as hell isn’t enough but then we get the second and we lose it at the end. Hopefully we shake it off and this doesn’t linger. 

1: That’s it. Set piece clinic. We need it. We are abysmal at defending them. I’m tired of conceding goals off of corners and free kicks. Not letting your man get in front of you should not be something  professional players of this caliber need to work on but clearly we do. It’s unacceptable and cheap goals can be game changing for a team that’s just probably not going to be scoring a ton of goals. 

2: Emotions got the better of us in the first 15. We were knocked off our game. Teams getting in our heads early on, where we absolutely need to be creating chances and converting those chances, is no bueno. That being said, we solidified our defensive shape and Seattle, who is known for creating chances, didn’t have much to say afterwards. It is our defense that is keeping us in games and giving us these chances to go on and get a result late on. 

3: Eric Lopez is a kid and he showed it. He was consistently reckless with his challenges. Making a hard tackle in the opponents final third is not necessary and when he’s on a yellow, he has to make better choices. For all the people hyping Lopez, he's still a kid. He got bossed by Nouhou tonight and subbing him out at the half was the right decision. 

4: We are still not doing enough with our possession in terms of the attack. For the most part teams that have less possession are doing more with it than we are with more. We need to be quicker especially in transition. We need to see more quick 1-2 touch passing and instead of playing back when we are pressed let’s take some chances and go forward. It is that willingness to get forward and take a couple risks that lead to our late equalizer. 

5: So, I guess we  are now the new “Goonies never say die”? Look, we definitely can’t keep leaving it so late but let’s also take stock of what happened. We limited the best team in the league to two shots on goal and one goal and we got a road point. We looked much better and much more willing to get forward and take chances in the second half and that’s what lead to Josef doing what Josef does. To quote Rafiki “the king has returned”. 

 

 

 

1: Moreno can probably dribble anyone off the pitch but he absolutely cannot shoot. He had a sitter of a shot in the 15th thanks to a lovely cutback ball from Lennon and he just whiffed. You CANNOT miss those. Forget putting it on frame, you gotta at least make contact with the ball. He doesn’t have his confidence and I don’t know how he gets it. 

 

2: Sossa showing just a little immaturity and that’s not a slight. It’s expected. He’s a skilled intelligent player but he has to avoid the cheap easy early yellows. 

 

3: We saw an Atlanta United that had a clear and effective plan and style of play.....for the first 20 minutes. After that it totally broke down. Montreal grew into the game and knocked us off of ours. This might start to develop into a pattern. We can’t be a team that is dependent on getting a goal early in the first half because we can’t be be consistent for 90. 

 

4: Passing was accurate. Also slow and meaningless. Moving the ball around and having a 85%+ passing success rate is great but it doesn’t mean a lot if the majority of those passes are safe and don’t lead to any chances or even a whiff of them. 

 

5: This was the first match Where we felt truly and continually disappointed. The disappointment is probably magnified because it was the first home match at the Benz at full capacity. It was the first match where the team and overall play felt unrecognizable . It felt like FDB was coaching over Zoom. But then we get the win at the last possible second from a player that I think a lot of us were screaming to have subbed off so honestly, we don’t know what the fuck to say now. 😝 Take the three points, and have some perspective that we are still learning and growing with new players, a new system and a new coach and we beat a side that is still top of the east. We should however expect and demand better than what we saw tonight for sure.