Atlanta United FC vs FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium, Saturday, July 4, 2018 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Atlanta United drop a heartbreaker to FC Dallas 3-2 at Toyota Stadium allowing two goals in the final minutes. What looked to be a solid performance all around fell apart in the final five minutes. Josef Martínez scoring twice pushing his league-leading goal total to 17. The loss snaps Atlanta’s seven-game road unbeaten streak and now Texas is the only place Atlanta has lost on the road.
Atlanta Head Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino after the match spoke to the disappointment of letting the game slip away, “These kinds of losses hurt. They hurt the most when you don’t deserve to lose. When the opponents are better than you, it’s a different kind of feeling because you know that team outplayed you. You are able to accept that loss more even though it still hurts you.. In our case, we did everything we could to win but ended up leaving empty handed.”
Scoring Details
FC Dallas 1 – Atlanta United 0 – Reto Ziegler 22’
Reto Ziegler curled in a free kick attempt from 30 yards out that clearedthe wall and tucked into the right corner beating Brad Guzan.
FC Dallas 1 – Atlanta United 1 – Josef Martínez (Tito Villalba) 41’
Tito Villalba started along the right wing by leaving defender Maynor Figueroa grabbing at air as he moved past him. He then played a cross from the box into the the six-yard box where Josef Martínez slid and smashed the ball into the back of the net with his left foot.
Too hot to handle ?@TitoVillalba15 with the sauce,@JosefMartinez17 with the finish pic.twitter.com/Pc4REPUpCV
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 5, 2018
FC Dallas 1 – Atlanta United 2 – Josef Martínez (Miguel Almirón) 73’
Miguel Almirón and Josef Martínez worked their magic again. Almirón dribbling in space 40 yards out, played Martinez on his run perfectly. Martínez was clinical in front the goal with a blast in left corner that FC Dallas goalie Jesse Gonzalez had no chance stopping.
He just can't. Stop. Scoring. ?@JosefMartinez17 with his second of the night to take the lead! pic.twitter.com/1aGiNPNY4k
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 5, 2018
FC Dallas 2 – Atlanta United 2 – Tesho Akindele (Maxi Urruti, Ryan Hollingshead) 86’
Substitute Tesho Akindele found the equalizer after Maxi Urruti found him on the left wing to beat Brad Guzan short side.
FC Dallas 3 – Atlanta United 2 – Tesho Akindele 88’
Atlanta United was unable to clear the corner kick and Akindele had a loose ball fall to his feet where he put the ball past Guzan for the winner..
Personnel Details
Julian Gressel was clear after the match on the lesson learned, “The lesson is that you can’t give away a game like that. We didn’t reward ourselves because we played a good game and came back from a goal down on a set piece, which happens. We fight back in a tough environment, then to give it away…that just can’t happen. That’s the lesson.” He had another solid performance filling in the for the injured Darlington Nagbe, but was clearly disappointed in the team result.
Line-ups
Atlanta United
- GK: Brad Guzan
- Defenders (4): Mikey Ambrose, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Michael Parkhurst(Romario Williams – 89’), Franco Escobar
- Midfielders (2): Jeff Larentowicz, Julian Gressel
- Midfielders (3): Ezequiel Barco (Miles Robinson – 83’), Miguel Almirón, Tito Villalba (Kevin Kratz – 69’)
- Forward (1): Josef Martinez
Unused Substitutes
- Alec Kann, Sal Zizzo, Brandon Vazquez, Andrew Carleton
FC Dallas
- GK: Jesse Gonzalez
- Defenders (4): Maynor Figueroa (Ryan Hollingshead – 82’), Reto Ziegler, Matt Hedges, Reggie Cannon
- Midfielders (4): Roland Lamah, Victor Ulloa (Tesho Akindele – 75’), Carlos Gruezo, Santiago Mosquera (Kellyn Acosta – 57’)
- Forwards (2): Max Urruti, Michael Barrios
Unused Substitutes
- Jimmy Maurer, Kris Reaves, Jacori Hayes, Jesus Ferreira
Up Next
Atlanta United returns to action Saturday when it travels to play Philadelphia Union on Saturday, July 7 at Talen Energy Stadium.
Atlanta United FC vs FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium, Saturday, July 4, 2018 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
