Photo: Noah K. Murray – USA TODAY Sports

By: Alex Jenkins (@1788sports, @acjenkins17)

Atlanta United FC (15-9-9) and the New York Red Bulls (13-12-8) played to a 0-0 draw in Harrison, N.J. on Sunday evening.

Despite the first half being scoreless, there was more to the game than the scoreline told. Atlanta looked dangerous early on. In the 6th minute Yamil Asad had a header from inside the six yard box but Red Bulls’ keeper Luis Robles was up to the task and pushed the header wide. In the 34th minute Robles misplayed a clearance that fell right into the feet of Atlanta midfielder Julian Gressel giving him a open goal shot from just inside half field but his effort was wide left and the chance was spoiled. Up until this point in the game it was all Atlanta United, as New York didn’t muster up anything offensively. That all changed when NYRB midfield Sacha Kljestan drilled the crossbar on a left footed shot in stoppage time of the first half. Seconds after, the Five Stripes had a golden opportunity on the counter attack. A long ball found the feet of Héctor Villalba and he was in 1v1 with Red Bulls keeper Robles but Villalba didn’t put the shot on frame.

The second half started very similarly to how it ended, a Villalba 1v1 with Robles. A Red Bulls defender got a foot on his shot, as did Robles get a hand on it, and the opportunity again was wasted. In the 50th minute, Josef Martínez almost got his head on a cross, however a New York defender beat him to it and sent it out for an Atlanta corner kick. Martínez had a relatively quiet game, considering his statline of 18 goals in 18 games played this year, and was subbed off later in the half for Kevin Kratz. From the 50th minute to the final whistle, it was all New York. Brad Guzan made arguably the play of the game in the 65th minute. New York quickly took a free kick, which lead to a low cross that found the feet of Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, whose shot was met by the strong left hand of Guzan and deflected over the crossbar. Wright-Phillips was held in check until this point and was stunned that his attempt didn’t find the back of the net. Guzan made one more save off of a free kick in the 73rd minute. New York looked dangerous and had the Five Stripes on their heels for the rest of the game but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net.

Both Atlanta United and the New York Red Bulls have clinched playoff spots. The only thing to be determined is what seed each team will get. Atlanta currently sits in 4th place, while New York is in 6th. If the season finished today Atlanta would play the Columbus Crew on October 25th/26th at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in the first round of the MLS playoffs.

Atlanta’s final MLS regular season game is on October 22nd at the Mercedes Benz Stadium against Toronto FC.