Atlanta United 2 lost 1-0 to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Saturday night at Highmark Stadium. Despite controlling possession and out-shooting Pittsburgh in the second half, ATL UTD 2 couldn’t overcome a first half goal in its first road game in a stretch of three away from home.
“The urgency to execute the things we trained wasn’t consistent enough, and we needed to be sharper earlier in the game,” said ATL UTD 2 head coach Scott Donnelly. “And as we’ve seen with our opponent, you can’t give them an inch. This has to be another learning experience for our players. Playing the style we play in this club requires a consistently high level of performance, and we are learning how to do that.”
Pittsburgh scored the night’s lone goal in the 26th minute on a play which began with a throw-in near Atlanta’s 18-yard box. Christiano Francois received a pass, dribbled toward the end line and laid the ball off for Neco Brett, who drilled a shot into the lower-right corner.
Atlanta was held without a shot on goal, but still found multiple key chances late in stoppage time. After a shot from forward Jon Gallagher took a deflection for a corner, midfielder Jack Metcalf’s delivery bounced around the penalty area where Andrew Kendall-Moullin nearly poked it across line, but Riverhounds goalkeeper Kyle Morton collected the loose ball.
In the final play of the match five minutes into stoppage time, ATL UTD 2 nearly equalized after a throw-in into the box was headed out to edge of the penalty area. Laurent Kissiedou took a volley, but his attempt went just over the bar, signaling the referee’s final whistle.
ATL UTD 2 (1-2-3, 6 points) returns to action Saturday, May 5 against FC Cincinnati at 7:00 p.m. at Nippert Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
