Atlanta United 2 secured its third straight win in a 2-1 triumph over Toronto FC II on Sunday night at Fifth Third Stadium. Seventeen-year-old Kaiden Moore scored his first professional goal while forward Rodrigo Neri netted the second-half winner, his third goal in four matches.
Toronto was first on the board when in the 16th minute forward Julian Altobelli sent in a right-footed free kick from about 25 yards out, curling over the defensive wall and into the upper right corner of the net to take an early 1-0 lead.
The match swayed in Atlanta's favor in the 26th minute after midfielder Javier Armas floated a ball over the defense for Luke Brennan who was making a run into the box, but Toronto defender Marko Stojadinovic wrapped up Brennan's arm to deny the goal scoring opportunity and was shown a straight red card. On the subsequent free kick, Nick Firmino narrowly missed the equalizer after his attempt rattled off the woodwork but the ball landed at the feet of Moore to tap in his first professional goal.
Atlanta looked to take a quick lead out of the break over the 10-man visitors. Brennan continued to make his presence felt on the offensive end after he found space on the right wing to send a ball into the penalty area, however, his pass was deflected and fell straight in the six-yard box for Neri who rose above the keeper's arms to head home the eventual winner.
The official showed another straight red card in the 61st minute, this time to Neri after he collided with Adam Pearlman with the referee asserting Neri's elbow struck Pearlman in the face. Both sides struggled to create any clear-cut chances for the remainder of the contest as ATL UTD 2 walked away with its third straight victory.
Atlanta United 2 (6-9-4, 24 points) hits the road to take on Inter Miami CF II at Chase Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 18 (7:00 p.m. ET, Apple TV - MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Notes:
- ATL UTD 2 have won its last three matches for the first time in club history.
- Pedro Amador made his ATL UTD 2 debut.
- Midfielder Javier Armas is the only ATL UTD 2 player to appear in all 1,710 minutes this season.
- Luke Brennan led all players in crosses with nine.
- Kaiden Moore scored his first professional goal
- Efraín Morales led all players in total passes, boasting a 92.8% passing accuracy.
- Rodrigo Neri scored his third goal in four matches for ATL UTD 2.
Match Summary
Stats:
Shots: 15-13 Atlanta
Shots on target: 4-2 Toronto
Corner kicks: 6-2 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 11-7 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 92.5% - 87.6% Atlanta
Scoring:
TOR – Julian Altobelli (Unassisted) 16'
ATL – Kaiden Moore (Unassisted) 27'
ATL – Rodrigo Neri (Unassisted) 48'
Disciplinary:
TOR – Marko Stojadinovic 🟥 26'
ATL – Noble Okello 🟨 29'
ATL – Javier Armas 🟨 36'
ATL – Rodrigo Neri 🟥 61'
ATL – Kaiden Moore 🟨 70'
