Atlanta United 2 lost 1-0 against Nashville SC Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Despite ATL UTD 2 taking more shots and dominating possession, substitute Taylor Washington scored late for Nashville to steal the three points.
“Largely, a good performance,” said ATL UTD 2 head coach Scott Donnelly. “We were sharp with the ball, got into the spaces we wanted to and had a cohesive, collective performance. Defensively, we largely neutralized one of the better teams in the league. But, we needed to make more of all the time we spent in our attacking half, because as we saw, in one moment the game changes.”
A physical first half prevented both teams from producing many scoring opportunities, but perhaps the best moment came in the 19th minute on a Nashville build up. Ismaila Jome sent in a cross from left side which took a deflection and skipped to Lebo Molto near the penalty spot. Standing on the edge of the six-yard-box, Atlanta goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt denied Moloto from point-blank range with a diving effort to his left to keep the match scoreless. That was the only shot on target for either side during the first 45 minutes.
ATL UTD 2 came out of the break quickly and nearly scored in the first minute of the second half. Running down the right side, Kevin Kratz sent a cross to the back post which found Lagos Kunga who one-timed the ball to Romario Williams at the edge of the six-yard-box. Williams attempted to deke a defender, but had the ball poked away. Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu was shadowing the play and pounced on the loose ball for an open look at goal, but he pushed his shot just wide of the right post.
Atlanta kept the pressure up when in the 57th minute Jon Gallagher drew a foul inches outside of the penalty area. However, Kratz’s ensuing free kick took a deflection off the wall and resulted in a corner which was ultimately cleared.
Nashville broke through in the 80th minute with a goal from Washington. Jome delivered a low cross from right side intended for Brandon Allen at the front post, but it skipped through to Washington at the back who tapped in his first goal of the season.
ATL UTD 2 (3-10-6, 15 points) returns to action Sunday, July 29 against Bethlehem Steel at 5:00 p.m. EST at Goodman Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
LINE SCORE
Atlanta 0, Nashville 1
First Tennessee Park
Nashville, Tennessee
STATS
Shots: 11-8 Atlanta
Shots on Target: 1-3 Nashville
Corner kicks: 4-2 Atlanta
Fouls committed: 13-13 Tied
Saves: 2-1 Atlanta
Offside: 1-4 Nashville
Possession: 56-44 Atlanta
Passing Accuracy: 86-81 Atlanta
SCORING SUMMARY
NSH – Taylor Washington (Ismaila Jome) 80’
DISCIPLINARYSUMMARY
ATL – Mikey Ambrose (yellow) 15’
ATL – Andrew Kendall-Moullin (yellow) 25’
NSH – Justin Davis (yellow) 61’
ATLANTA UNITED 2 STARTING LINEUP
Mitch Hildebrandt; Mikey Ambrose (Will Crain – 66’), Miles Robinson, AJ Cochran, Jack Metcalf ©; Andrew Kendall-Moullin (Laurent Kissiedou – 53’), Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu; Jon Gallagher, Kevin Kratz (Chris Goslin – 71’), Lagos Kunga; Romario Williams.
Substitutes not used: Paul Christensen, Shawn Nicklaw, Yosef Samuel Devon Sandoval.
NASHVILLE SC STARTING LINEUP
C.J. Cochran; Ryan James, Justin Davis ©, Liam Doyle, Kosuke Kimura; Ismaila Jome (Jordan Dunstan – 90’), Boluwatife Akinyode, Matt LaGrassa, Alan Winn (Taylor Washington – 74’); Lebo Moloto; Ropapa Mensah (Brandon Allen – 73’).
Substitutes not used: Josh Hughes, Tucker Hume, Ramone Howell, Micah Bledsoe.
ATTENDANCE
8,729
OFFICIALS
Guido Gonzales (referee), Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein (assistant), Austin Holt (assistant), Amin Hadzic (fourth).
TEAM NOTES
- Atlanta featured a starting lineup with an average age of 24.2, its oldest of the season, and ended the match with an average age on the field of 22.1 after bringing on three teenage substitutes in Laurent Kissiedou (19), Will Crain (18) and Chris Goslin (18).
- Mitch Hildebrandt made his third start of the season
- Kevin Kratz made his second start with ATL UTD 2
