ATL UTD 2 unable to overcome 2 goal deficit
Atlanta United 2 hosted Eastern Conference leaders St. Louis FC for 90’s night in front of 2,640 fans at Fith-Thrid Banks Stadium. The visitors used their poise and experience to best the young ATL UTD 2 squad. They combined an early lead with physical play and a fair amount of gamesmanship to unsettle the home side.
St. Louis FC were aided by an early sketchy penalty call in the 9th minute that allowed them to grab an early lead. Just over ten minutes later, St. Louis FC doubled their lead. They took advantage of a long ball from Lewis Hilton to Russell Cicerone. Cicerone took control of the ball just outside the box and beat ATL UTD 2 defender George Campbell with a nifty cut back to his left foot. This move gave him just enough space to get off the shot and beat ATL UTD 2 goalkeeper Alec Kann to the bottom right corner.
Atlanta United 2 defender George Campbell on the ball during the match with Saint Louis FC Saturday night April 6th at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. (photo: Anthony Pugh-Roberts)
The hosts put together a strong second half controlling possession for more than 70% of the time. They outshot the visitors 12-3 in the second half but only one of those shot was on target and they were unable to convert any of those shots into a goal.
Stephen Glass, “In the first half, we didn’t show all of our qualities. We got caught up in some of the refereeing decisions that went against us and we didn’t get our foot on the ball. We didn’t really pass the ball like we can as a team. In the second half, you saw a number of top individual performances and if that had been there in the first half, perhaps we would have come out on top tonight.”
Man of the Match
Andrew Carleton made his second start of the season with ATL UTD 2. He really came alive in the second half and looked dangerous and tied an ATL UTD 2’s single-game record with eight shots. After the match, he reflected on his performance, “In the first few minutes of the game, you are always trying to feel out the opponent and feel where the spaces are. It took me 10, 15, 20 minutes to find those spaces, but as the game went on, I started to find myself in some pretty good pockets and be able to get on the ball.”
His confidence was excellent he just lacked that clinical finish to convert a couple of those shots into goals. Overall he had a positive assessment, “I was happy with how I was playing, but I just could not put the ball in the back of the net. You have those nights every now and then. I thought as a team we played well, individually I played well, but at the end of the day we just could not put the ball in the back of the net.”
Atlanta United 2 forward Andrew Carleton on the ball during the match with Saint Louis FC Saturday night April 6th at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. (photo: Anthony Pugh-Roberts)
Line-ups
Atlanta United 2
- GK: Alec Kann
- Defenders (4): Guillermo Benitez, Florentin Pogba (Wesly Decas – 45’), George Campbell, Laurence Wyke
- Midfielders (4): Dion Pereira, Jack Metcalf Anderson Asiedu, Luiz Fernando (Lagos Kunga – 78’)
- Forwards(2): Romario Williams (Yosef Samuel – 77’), Andrew Carleton
Unused Substitutes
- Dylan Castanheira, Kevin Barajas, Laurent Kissiedou
St. Louis FC
- GK: Jake Fenlason;
- Defenders (4): Bradley Kamdem Fewo (Matt Bahner – 17’), Paris Gee, Phanuel Kavita, Sam Fink
- Midfielders (4): Lewis Hilton, Joaquin Rivas (Austin Martz – 64’), Guy Abend, Russell Cicerone
- Forward (2): Albert Dikwa, Kyle Greig (Sean Reynolds – 73’)
Unused Substitutes
- Patrick Schulte, Audi Jepson, Caleb Calvert, Kadeem Dacres.
Up Next
ATL UTD 2 hits the road when they return to action Wednesday, April 10 against Memphis 901 FC at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Atlanta United 2
USL
