George Bello for Atlanta United 2 in a match against Penn FC Sunday at Coolray Field. (Photo: Karl L. Moore)
Atlanta United 2 came off a 2-2 draw last weekend and looked to build on that momentum at home with a win. They welcomed Penn FC on q sunny and chilly afternoon in front of 2,861 fans at Coolray Field. ATLUTD2 has now started the season without a loss in their three matches and have collected five points. However, the home team struggled through a game of attrition with Penn FC. They were able able to control large portions of the match with 58% possession. However, they only had five shots on goal and played from behind after conceding a goal in first half.
Penn FC is a tough club to convert possession into scoring opportunities. According ATL UTD 2 defender AJ Cochran, “I thought we established a good base of possession the whole game, especially in the first half. The were an organized team – chippy – were in good spots all over the field. So yeah, they made it a little difficult. Like I said I thought we had good spells of possession but this week we’re just going to have to work on maybe breaking down teams morebecause they did sit in on us a little bit and I think we’re going to see that because teams know that we like to possess the ball.”
It was a tough physical match. There were three yellow card warnings issued, and 15 fouls committed on both sides. The ATL UTD 2 goal scorer forward Jon Gallagher spoke about the physical play, “Throughout the week we knew, based on our scouting, that they were going to play like that. They wanted to make it a physical game, but we wanted to emphasize the fact that we were going to dictate the play and I thought we did a much better job of that in the 2nd half.”
The young team is still learning and is eager for more than a single point. ATL UTD 2 head coach Scott Donnelly thought his team responded well after going down a goal near the end of the first half. After the match he remarked, “Yeah, I’m happy with the response but we’re no happier with a tie than we were last week. We played part of the game and we need to play a whole game. As I just said to the guys, the silver lining is they showed a lot of toughness, they showed the ability to come from a goal down to get a point. We’re not happy with the tie or the point, but the thing we always keep in mind is that – again – it was quite a young team and there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from even a game where you leave a little bit dissatisfied.”
Scoring
Penn FC forward Thomas Heinemann broke the deadlock with a strike in the 32nd minute of the first half. An ATLUTD2 turnover in the middle of the field was sent long into the box by Dan Metzger and mid-fielder Richard Menjiver back-heeled to the striking Heinemann for the goal. It was the first goal of the season for Penn FC.
ATLUTD2 struck back with a goal from Jon Gallagher in the 63rd minute. ATLUTD2 forward Yosef Samuel played an pass from the mid-field circle to Lagos Kunga in the corner. Bello launched a cross that Gallagher headed into the goal. It was third goal of the season for Gallagher.
.@LAGOSKUNGA finds @JonGallagher96 streaking into the box for the header.#UniteAndConquer pic.twitter.com/4B3Ct6QPvJ
— ATL UTD 2 (@atlutd2) April 8, 2018
Personnel Details
Goalkeeper Nico Caraux made his debut for Atlanta United 2, he marks the third goalkeeper for in three matches. Cochran talked about the confidence in the goalkeepers, “We have a lot of confidence in all three of the goalies. Obviously, when Alec (Kann) comes down and gets games we have a ton of confidence in him and we have a ton of confidence in Nico (Caraux) and Paul (Christensen). They trust that we do our jobs, we trust that they’re going to do their jobs and we work together as a unit – especially from a backline perspective. Any goalie that’s in there – all goalies are vocal and we get to train with them every day. It was actually a pretty easy transition.”
Atlanta United 2 defender Kendall Edwards Atlanta United 2 vs Penn FC Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. (Photo: Karl L. Moore)
Atlanta United 2 defender Kendall Edwards, who is just 17 years-old, made his professional debut. Playing the position occupied by Miles Robinson the past two matches, but was unavailable after starting last night for the parent club. Team leader AJ Cochran had this to say about Edwards making his first start, “I thought Kendall did very well. He’s a young kid, I enjoyed playing next to him. He’s got a lot of upside to him, he’s very physical, very athletic and obviously any time you get to come and play a professional game when you’re that young is awesome. Kendall did very well.”
Shawn Nicklaw made his club debut when he entered as a substitute in the second half
Line-ups
Altanta United 2
- GK: Nicolas Caraux
- Defenders (4): George Bello, A.J. Cochran, Kendall Edwards, Jack Metcalf
- Midfielders (2):Andrew Kendall-Moulin (Shawn Nicklaw 87′), Oliver Shannon (Jose Carranza 76′)
- Midfielders (3):Jon Gallagher, Chris Goslin, Lagos Kunga
- Forwards (1): Yosef Samuel (Devon Sandoval 71′)
Unused Substitutes
- Kevin Barajas, Paul Christensen
Penn FC
- GK: Romuald Peiser
- Defenders (3): Harri Hawkins, Tiago Calvano, Kenneth Tribbett
- Midfielders (5): Salvatore Barone, Richard Menjivar (Miguel Jamie 85′), Mauro Eustaquito, Dan Metzger, Jake Bond
- Forwards (2): Lucky Mkosana (Jorge Rivera 90′ +3)), Thomas Heinemann (Saalih Muhammad 50′)
Unused Substitutes
- Kyle Venter, Sean Lewis, Aaron Dennis, Marco Franco
Up Next
Atlanta United 2 returns to action at home in Coolray Field, on Saturday, April 21 against Louisville City FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
