NYCFC host Atlanta United at Yankee Stadium on May 9, 2018. (Photo credit: Atlanta United)
In a matchup between the top two teams in the eastern conference, the verdict is that same as the last time they met. It was a game that was not as close as the 1-1 draw score indicates, New York City FC will feel that they let two points slip away. The home team outplayed the visitors in every aspect possible but were unfortunate to only collect a draw.
It was the case of two halves being completely different. The top scoring teams in MLS played to a 0-0 draw in a first half that was a pretty even affair. NYCFC held a slight advantage with a couple of good chances missed. However, the second half told a different story. Atlanta had to substitute Miguel Almirón after he injured his shoulder from a tackle in the first half. They were able to grab an early second half goal from Josef Martínez. The replacement of Almirón with Romario Williams, Tata Martino made a tactical change, bringing in a striker for a midfielder, and it took less than three minutes for the shift to pay off in a goal.
However, after the goal NYCF started to pour numbers forward from defense to join the offensive attack in a attempt to get into the game. The home side out shot the visitors 25-6, with twenty of those shots coming in the second half. It took a set piece for NYCFC to find their breakthrough 13 minutes from time. In the 77th minute, a corner kick was diverted to the back post and Peruvian center back Alex Callens drove in and knocked it home at the back post.
After the match Atlanta head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said, “I think New York was the better team in the second half, up until Josef’s goal it was pretty much even but after that New York became the better team.” He also stated that, ““It was a hard point and unfair, it’s probably the first point we’ve taken without deserving it.
NYCFC head coach Patrick Viera had a similar take, “Yeah, we were unlucky. There’s no doubt about it. I think Guzan was fantastic -I think he was the man of the match. But overall when we look at the first half and the second half, I think that was what I was expecting from the players. I think we had a solid game, we had a professional game where we respected our game plan and we concentrated on not allowing them to find the space. But when we did it, we got punished right away.”
Scoring
Early in the second half Julian Gressel found space to move forward from mid field and laid a beautiful curling cross after only a single tough. Both Williams and Martínez were in motion splitting NYCFC defender Sebastien Ibeagha to chose, this created an open yard to free Martínez inside the box. Martínez then crushed a header down to generate a bounce over Sean Johnson and into the net.
NYCFC defender Sebastien Ibeagha explained the difficulty of defending the play with the quick shift of play, “I think the quick switch, I was out of position -I was trying to get to the center of the three and I was out of position, bounced it right over my head and made a good finish. But it was tough for me to shift quicker.”
Gressel ➡️ Martinez
A beautiful play to give us the lead in NYC! pic.twitter.com/d38kZv6ZoM
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) June 9, 2018
Personnel Details
With Romario Williams substitution for Miguel Almirón at halftime, the 45 minutes played were a career high in an MLS game for Williams. His presence was a key factor to the Martínez goal, as he help attract defensive attention to allow the additional space for the goal.
NYCFC host Atlanta United at Yankee Stadium on May 9, 2018. (Photo credit: Atlanta United)
Brad Guzan made nine saves, a club record. The previous high was seven by Alec Kann (April 8, 2017) against Toronto FC and BMO Field. His nine saves were tied for the third most in MLS this season. He spoke the pressure of 25 shots, “I don’t know if it felt like more, but we were under a bit of pressure for long periods of time. It’s good to take a point. That can’t go unnoticed….They’re a good team. We knew that coming in. We knew it was a hard place to come. But we were up for the challenge and the guys in there left everything on the field.”
Line-ups
Atlanta United
- GK: Brad Guzan
- Defenders (3): Leandro González Pirez, Michael Parkhurst, Franco Escobar(Sal Zizzo 85′)
- Midfielders (5): Mikey Ambrose, Julian Gressel, Jeff Larentowicz, Darlington Nagbe, Miguel Almirón (Romario Williams 45′)
- Forwards (2): Josef Martinez , Ezequiel Barco (Kevin Kratz 66′)
Unused Substitutes
- Alec Kann, Miles Robinson, Andrew Carleton, Brandon Vazquez
New York City FC
- GK: Sean Johnson
- Defenders (2): Alexander Callens, Alexander Ring
- Midfielders (5): Sebastien Ibeagha; Ben Sweat (Jonathan Lewis – 72’), Ebenezer Ofori (Jesus Medina – 58’), Maximiliano Moralez, Anton Tinnerholm
- Forwards (3): David Villa, Jo Inge Berget, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
Unused Substitutes
- Brad Stuver, Saad Adbul-Salaam, Maxime Chanot, Kwame Awauh, Thomas McNamara.
Up Next
Atlanta United travel to Columbus for a midweek match with the Columbus Crew SC on Wednesday.
