Atlanta United 2 played Crown Legacy FC to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night at Sportsplex at Matthews. Crown Legacy took home an extra point after winning the penalty shootout 5-3. Goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert recorded his first career clean sheet to go along with 12 saves, the second most in club history. With the result, Atlanta United 2 is eliminated from MLS NEXT Pro Playoff contention.
Crown Legacy began the match on the front foot and was in control during the first 45 minutes. Hibbert came up big for the visitors, notching seven of his 12 saves during the first half. In the 26th minute, the Jamaican keeper recorded saves on back-to-back plays. Crown Legacy's Bill Tuiloma connected on a header deep in the penalty area but Hibbert reacted swiftly to palm the ball over the bar. On the subsequent corner, the home side sent another header towards the back of the net but Hibbert dove to the lower left corner to keep the match scoreless.
Atlanta's best chance of the first half came in the 39th minute when midfielder Noble Okello initiated a counterattack. Okello broke through the midfield with a burst of speed before laying the ball off on the left flank for Karim Tmimi, who cut in and slid a pass to Nick Firmino at the top of the box. The Brazilian midfielder got off a right-footed rocket that was heading for the roof of the net, but his attempt was sent away for a corner.
Coming right out of the locker room from the halftime break, defender Ramzi Qawasmy ran the length of the pitch on the right side before sliding in a pass to Matías Gallardo. Gallardo controlled the ball with his left foot to get off an attempt around his defender, but his shot fell just off target. Just one minute later, Alan Carleton carved out a chance of his own, moving around the outside of the 18 until he ripped a long-range shot that narrowly missed the framework.
The visitors would continue to pepper Crown Legacy's goal with attempts through the second half. ATL UTD 2's best chance of the night happened in the 52nd minute. The Argentine squared a ball to captain Javier Armas outside the box, who pinged the ball through the defense to Okello for a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper but the Canadian's chance was saved. Later in the 84th, Academy defender Dominik Chong Qui made a run up the left wing, muscling off his defender for a good chance on goal but the 16-year-old's shot curled high.
With the contest scoreless after 90 minutes, a penalty shootout determined extra point. Both sides traded conversions until Atlanta's third attempt. Carleton stepped up to the spot, picking out the bottom left corner of goal but Crown Legacy's Chituru Odunze guessed correctly and made the save.
Atlanta United 2 (7-12-7, 31 points) returns to Fifth Third Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 24 for its home finale in a matchup against Inter Miami CF II (7:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Passsubscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Notes:
- With the draw and shootout loss, ATL UTD 2 are eliminated from MLS NEXT Pro Playoff contention.
- Javier Armas is the only ATL UTD 2 player to appear in all 2,340 minutes this season.
- Jayden Hibbert recorded 12 saves, the second most in a match in club history.
- Jayden Hibbert registered his first professional clean sheet.
Penalty Shootout:
ATL
Javier Armas – ✅
Noble Okello – ✅
Alan Carleton – ❌
Karim Tmimi – ✅
CLFC
Jonathan Nyandjo – ✅
Filip Mirkovic – ✅
Nimfasha Berchimas – ✅
Nick Scardina – ✅
Julian Bravo – ✅
Stats:
Shots: 29-15 Crown Legacy
Shots on target: 13-4 Crown Legacy
Corner kicks: 13-4 Crown Legacy
Fouls Committed: 13-9 Atlanta
Passing accuracy: 88.9% - 86.9%
Scoring:
N/A
Disciplinary:
ATL – Noble Okello 🟨 25'
ATL – Nick Firmino 🟨 61'
ATL – Karim Tmimi 🟨 73'
