By: Craig Shuman

Photo Credit: Miguel Martinez/MundoHispanico

A league-record 71,874 people packed into Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Sunday to see what Atlanta United could do against the best team in the league, Toronto FC. The Supporters’ Shield winners were fighting for a record of their own: most points in a single season. The Five Stripes were also fighting for playoff position, and would, with a win or a draw, secure at least a home game in the first round of the playoffs. But, when the dust settled, the score was level at 2-2, Toronto had broken the points record, and Atlanta secured a knockout round home game by finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Chicago Fire, but down on number of wins, the first tiebreaker in MLS.

The first half started out as a rather physical and aggressive affair, with players on both teams showing their opponents they were not afraid to make contact. Atlanta fielded an unusual formation with Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez out due to yellow card accumulation, with a 3-man backline of Walkes, Lawrentowicz, and Parkhurst. Chris McCann, Carlos Carmona, Kevin Kratz, and Julian Gressel joined Villalba and Asad in midfield, with Josef taking his usual position at the tip of the spear. In the fourth minute, Chris McCann attempted a shot from outside the box in the fourth minute, but missed left. Dangerous runs from both Josef Martinez and Jozy Altidore were started just a little too soon, and were flagged offsides in the 5th and 9th minutes, respectively. In the 13th minute, Sebastian Giovinco made a run down into the box, and attempted a shot from a very acute angle on the goal, but missed. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan was not really tested until the 21st minute, when Jozy Altidore got in behind Michael Parkhurst, and chipped it towards Guzan’s left side, but Guzan made the Save of The Week (I’m calling it now, folks) by managing to just barely get 3 of the fingers on his left hand on the ball, and he knocked it over the bar for a corner. Toronto would fail to score on the corner, and Atlanta would start to pressure Toronto’s defense.

In the 27th minute, a cross from Kevin Kratz found Yamil Asad in the box, but Asad’s header was easily picked up by Toronto’s keeper, Alex Bono, and cleared. However, after a video review (praise VAR), Asad’s header was revealed to have taken a deflection off a Toronto defender’s hand, and Atlanta were given a penalty kick. Asad buried the PK in the back of the net, making it 1-0 to the Five Stripes. The rest of the first half would see Guzan make some easy saves, and Atlanta fail to convert attacking chances into goals. The half would end 1-0, with Atlanta having 61.3% of possession. Josef, throughout the first half, didn’t just stay up top; he would run all over the midfield, winning back possession through some nice tackles, and just harassing whoever had the ball.

Atlanta would get the ball at the start of the second half, and Tito Villalba attempted a shot 45 seconds later that was deflected. Atlanta corner. Brad Guzan came out of the box to fend off a dangerous run by Toronto and conceded a corner. Nothing came from either of these corners. In the 52nd minute, Jeff Lawrentowicz earned a yellow card on a foul and conceded a free kick. Giovinco put too much power on the ball, and it went high. Still 1-0, but not for long. In the 60th minute, Jozy Altidore received a long ball pass, and Michael Parkhurst tried to get in front of him to block his movement, but he did not clear the ball, and Brad Guzan did not run out to meet the ball. This lack of movement from either player allowed Altidore to put the ball in the back of the net, equalizing at 1. Michael Parkhurst went down for a few minutes with an apparent injury, but was back up and playing before the kickoff. In the 61st minute, Miguel Almiron was subbed in for Kevin Kratz, getting his first game-time minutes since being injured at the end of September. His impact was immediately felt, as he crosses a dangerous ball into the box, but it did not meet Josef Martinez and went out of play. A mere 13 minutes later, Walkes passes the ball to Miggy Smiles, who gives a through ball to Tito Villalba. Tito meets the ball, and crosses it into Martinez, who deftly flicks the ball into the goal, making it 2-1 United. However, in the 81st minute, Michael Parkhurst fouls Altidore, and goes down again. This time, he is subbed out for Bobby Boswell, who got his first playing minutes since joining the team over the summer transfer window. On the ensuing free kick, Sebastian Giovinco scores a beautiful (but I hated it) goal, over the wall, and just out of reach of Brad Guzan. 2-2 was now the score, and 2-2 it would remain. There were no chest bump heroics from Lawrentowicz during this game, as the last chance the Five Stripes would have bounced off his knee from a corner and went sailing over the bar.



With the 2-2 draw, Atlanta United secured a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and will play the Columbus Crew on Thursday at 7 pm. Even better, with Miguel Almiron back from injury, and hopefully able to start Thursday’s match, our prospects are looking good. Let’s go, United. The Cup is calling.