Atlanta United fell to Columbus Crew SC 1-0 Tuesday night at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. Atlanta dictated play for most of the second half and forced multiple saves during the final 10 minutes, but the loss ultimately eliminated the club from MLS is Back Tournament.
Columbus struck when Youness Mokhtar finished off a long sequence in the 18th minute. Mokhtar received a pass near the edge of the box and played Milton Valenzuela wide. The return pass came once Mokhtar snuck inside the box, where he immediately attempted for goal. Despite a diving attempt from Miles Robinson, the ball only slightly changed direction, before ultimately landing inside the near post.
Atlanta made a pair of changes at halftime to shake things up. That included 2018 SuperDraft pick Jon Gallagher, who made his First Team debut. Eric Remedi also came on for Fernando Meza, and with more of an attacking threat, Atlanta was able to push forward, attempting 13 second-half shots, including five on goal forcing saves from goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell.
Particularly late, Atlanta forced multiple saves from Tarbell, with perhaps the best chance coming deep in stoppage time from Anton Walkes that forced Tarbell to get low to make a save. Ultimately, though, Atlanta could not find an equalizer.
Atlanta finished group play at the MLS is Back Tournament in fourth place, while it fell to 2-3-0 (6 points) in the MLS Regular Season.
MATCH INFO
MLS is Back Tournament | Group E
Columbus Crew SC 1, Atlanta United 0
ESPN Wide World of Sports Field 16
Orlando, Florida
STATS
Shots: 15-9 Atlanta
Shots on Target: 6-3 Atlanta
Corner kicks: 6-5 Atlanta
Fouls committed: 23-20 Columbus
Clearances: 11-10 Columbus
Offside: 1-0 Columbus
Possession: 55-45 Atlanta
Passing Accuracy: 87-85 Atlanta
SCORING SUMMARY
CLB – Youness Mokhtar (Milton Valenzuela) 18’ [HIGHLIGHT]
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
CLB – Milton Valenzuela (yellow) 25’
ATL – Franco Escobar (yellow) 45+4’
CLB – Pedro Santos (yellow) 60’
ATL – Miles Robinson (yellow) 73’
CLB – Héctor Jiménez (yellow) 85’
CLB – Luis DÃaz (yellow) 90+3’
ATLANTA UNITED STARTING LINEUP
Brad Guzan ©; Fernando Meza (Eric Remedi – HT), Miles Robinson, Franco Escobar (Anton Walkes – 72’); George Bello (Manuel Castro – 69’), Emerson Hyndman (Jeff Larentowicz – 80’), Mo Adams, Brooks Lennon; Pity MartÃnez, Ezequiel Barco, Adam Jahn (Jon Gallagher – HT).
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Brendan Moore, Edgar Castillo, George Campbell, Laurence Wyke, Tyler Wolff, Mattheus Rossetto.
COLUMBUS CREW SC STARTING LINEUP
Andrew Tarbell; Jonathan Mensah ©, Milton Valenzuela (Hector Jimenez – HT), Aboubacar Keita, Harrison Afful; Darlington Nagbe (Sebastian Berhalter – 80’), Pedro Santos (Lucas Zelarayan – 61’), Artur, Luis Diaz, Youness Mokhtar (Derrick Etienne Jr – HT); Gyasi Zardes (Fanendo Adi – 60’).
Substitutes not used: Matt Lampson, Chris Cadden, Josh Williams, Axel Sjoberg, Aidan Morris, Miguel Berry.
OFFICIALS
Timothy Ford (referee), Andrew Bigelow (assistant), Jason White (assistant), Allen Chapman (fourth), David Gantar (VAR)
TEAM NOTES
- Jon Gallagher came on as a substitute at halftime to make his First Team debut. The former Notre Dame product was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft and spent the last year on loan at Aberdeen FC of the Scottish Premiership.
- Miles Robinson completed a team-high 49 passes.
- Pity Martinez completed a game-high 37 passes in the opponents’ half.
- Franco Escobar led the team with six recoveries.
- Jeff Larentowicz made his 423rd career MLS Regular Season appearance, second most all-time in MLS history among field players
