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- Atlanta United played with crisp, creative passing and aggressive energy, dominating both offense and defense throughout the match.
- Emmanuel Latte Lath scored his first goal in months and added an assist, delivering his best game of the season.
- Miguel Almiron supplied multiple brilliant assists and key passes that unlocked the Philadelphia Union defense.
- Tomas Jacob scored his first goal for the Five Stripes; Alexey Miranchuk added another, marking his third this season.
- Goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos made several crucial saves, including a leaping fingertip stop to preserve the shutout.
Atlanta United won its first game of the season on Saturday afternoon, 3-1 over visiting Philadelphia Union. It’s not so much the final score that was most impressive; it’s the fact that Atlanta United won by its largest margin in front of its smallest crowd. Attendance for Saturday’s game was 35,308.
Atlanta United went into this weekend without a win through three games and with far too many questions. Is Lucas Hoyos the right man in goal? Will Emmanuel Latte Lath ever score a goal again? Is Miguel Almiron finished being an elite, game-changing player on the pitch? Is Tata Martino the right manager for the job?
Against the equally inefficient Philadelphia Union (0-3) on Saturday afternoon, something had to give. Atlanta United nearly fell behind four minutes into the match when its much-maligned back line nearly allowed the Union to score the game’s first goal.
The energy of the match quickly shifted, however, when Atlanta United went on the offensive and saw three shots-on-goal miss the Philadelphia Union net by the thinnest of margins each time. Though the goals were not scored, the Five Stripes were being the aggressors, something they were not during the last match in this building, a 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake. Two of those missed shots were from Emmanuel Latte Lath. He would not miss his next attempt.
A leading pass from Miguel Almiron found its way between Philadelphia Union defenders in the 28th minute, and left Latte Lath with an open pitch and a Philly goalkeeper, Andre Blake, in his way. Latte Lath’s goal, his first in months, gave Atlanta United its first 1-0 lead of the season.
There were times during the first half that Atlanta United looked like it had 12 or 13 players on the field. The passing between players, some of which found their way between Philadelphia Union players’ legs, was crisp and creative. The home team was having fun.
Everything was going right for Atlanta United. Even when it shouldn’t have. In the 40th minute, a yellow card near the penalty box, courtesy of Elias Baez and an elbow to the head, earned a penalty kick for the Philadelphia Union. The kick was missed, and the first half ended with the home team in front at halftime for the first time this season.
Minutes into the second half, the scoring began again. Atlanta United added to its lead with a goal by Tomas Jacob, his first for the Five Stripes, that gave the home team a 2-0 advantage. Miguel Almiron was once again responsible for the assist. Almiron nearly scored the third goal of the game in the 51st minute. He would get his third assist of the game when he passed a brilliant low ball to Alexey Mirnachuk for the third goal of the game and Mirnachuk’s third goal of the season. He scored two goals against Real Salt Lake a week earlier.
Atlanta United was outscored 4-0 after its first two games of the season and gave up three first-half goals during its third game of the season. On Saturday, they were dominant on both offense and defense. Goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos made several saves during the game, including a leaping fingertip save in the 80th minute to preserve the clean sheet.
The post Atlanta United earns first win of season in spectacular style, 3-1 over Philly Union appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.
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