Sporting Kansas City vs. Atlanta United FC Children's Mercy Park — Kansas City May 5 - 9:00 PM ET FS1 MLSsoccer.com preview here. AJC.com United home page here. Several weeks ago when these two teams were advancing to the 2nd round of the CONCACAF Champions League I had a moment where I felt SKC would be the class of the league, and that Atlanta would at least be up there. Then April came along... Last week Atlanta got a 2nd win. The offense remains MIA but the Stripes did control the match. Further aiding their cause is the continued progress with players recovering from injury, even if regrettably Remedi has no memory of the New England match due to concussion. With Escobar now able to put in more substantial shifts expect there are options in defense that should endow better support of attack. So 2 wins in the past 3 and that one loss was kind of a fluke, soooo... SKC has suffered their own lapse in form with 3 draws and a loss in their past 4 matches. More intriguing is the fact that SKC has been anything but winning defensive slogs as per their traditional MO. Through 8 games SKC is averaging 2.3 goals per match while giving up 1.9 per in exchange. (Granted, 11 of their goals occurred in 2 games. Still...) At their best SKC is capable of stalwart possession and suffocating defense in a classic Italian fashion, soaking up pressure until they can assume control of gameplay. Felipe Guitierrez able manages a nimble midfield with talented man-markers while Gerso, Daniel Solloi and Krizstian Nemeth spearhead an attack built on quick counters from midfield and a penchant for dead ball threats. Since moving into what is now Children's Mercy Park SKC has had one of the premier settings, and home records, in MLS, so even if they have an off year they're still a contender for post-season play. For the Five Stripes it's the same story - They need to find a way to score. Possession and work rate only mean so much and their inability to score, let alone multiple goals in 1 match, won't often yield results. Debate rages about how much of this is due to fate, the coaching strategy, or the players but everyone knows something has to change. At SKC is a tough place to fix what ails Atlanta, but it appears that if United is to secure a point this weekend they'll need to play at least as good as they did versus FCD. Expect Larentowicz to play while Remedi continues recovering and Escobar to play and provide speed in support of Gressel on the right. As for whether Pity or Tito starts I've given up making that call. Whichever doesn't will surely come on, though. Dare I hope for a cagey 2-2 draw?
SKC is pretty beat up. While they can score goals in bunches they can also give them up. Look no farther than last week's 4-4 shootout with New England (where SKC ended the game with a two man advantage). We seem to slowly be getting healthy and I think Pity is going to have a breakout game. Hopefully Josef can find his 2018 form and get onto some of the crosses Pity, Gressel, and Brek (yes I noted Brek Shea, his crossing was pretty good last week). I'd never put a score on this match, as it is still impossible to judge this team, but if we don't get 3 points I'll be disappointed.
Great, just when he should be getting ready to rejoin the first team George Bello gets hurt again and is out 2-3 months. https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united-bello-out-months/ItMrVe3hW4SU7USk3tJCAI/
I know the kid is young and you don't want to call a trend just yet, but this is becoming concerning.
Greg Garza 2.0? (and I know Greg played on the right and not the left). Bello looked good when called up last year and was part of the reasoning when we let Garza and McCann go... a home grown yoot with skillz and a big threat moving up the field. Hopefully he is not a young Mr. Glass. I don't think he is, he just keeps reinjuring the same thing over and over. Hopefully the surgery will fix things for good.
Re: Bello I agree with the notion that we need to let him heel properly. Don't rush him back only to make matters worse long term. It does present a personnel issue for the team, though, not only for depth but as a matter of having a speed option on the left. Paging Mr. Pogba? Re: SKC I was unaware of how dire their injury woes are at the moment. Not sure that means Atlanta should be counted on for three pts on the road but the odds have definitely improved. Various pundits suggesting that as a result Atlanta should look to press and press hard. Side note: Atlanta has, what, 8(!) games in 4 weeks. Absolutely critical they get rotation right starting Sunday.
I doubt SKC will because they typically never do, but with all the injuries SKC could resort to bunkering. I do not want to watch a repeat of last Saturdays match, especially after watching this Galaxy / Red Bulls clash.
Looking back at the games Atlanta has played, I realized they've basically only played two games in what could be close to "ideal" situations: at DC and at NE. The Columbus game is a wash, and every team at home has bunkered. In games where they could play, they're 1 for 2. Not great, but not horrible either. Even with SKC's injury woes, I have to think they'll come out any play. You have to entertain your own fans. And injury woes or no, I can't imagine they'd appreciate the opposing team keeping the ball 70% of the time. Especially since SKC probably feels they are equals to United.
Pete Vermes doesn't bunker, even when he probably should. Having said that he'll probably park a third bus in front of the goal. And I don't think that DC game was an "ideal" situation. It was a cold monsoon. DC probably still wins that one, but I'd like to seen them play in better conditions.
Halftime. 1-0 good guys on a Josef Martinez goal. This game looks much more open, since SKC isn't parking 11 dudes inside the 18-yd box. We had some very good chances early that we somehow failed to capitalize on. The goal wasn't even that great of a chance, but good things happen when you shoot hard and on-frame.
Barco! Great start to the second half. I thought the first goal was hit with pass and Josef attacks the goal and knocks home the rebound. Lets get another one!
SKC's game plan had a lot to do with the goals tonight. They pressed more, they opened up space, and we exploited it.
SKC is a possession team just like us and Peter Vermes is never going to bunker. We won the possession battle and they were forced to rely on the counter. Our defense played well and their counters were never all that threatening. Yeah, there were a few dicey moments, like when Miles blocked that scorcher with his face, but I believe the announcers said SKC did not have a shot on goal until the 73rd minute. Last nights game demonstrated how important scoring first and scoring in the first half is to this team. It will be to see how Toronto plays us tactically on Wednesday night. Great win, nice to see Pity come off the field with a smile on his face.
Overall a solid performance, albeit flattered to deceive based on SKC's walking wounded lineup. Still, Atlanta did what they should do against a weakend opponent and controlled the game. Barco was excellent and exhibited the verve and guile we've been expecting to go along with his hustle. If he's the same player when he returns next month then color me thrilled. Better still his link up with other players has VASTLY improved, so he's not just a penetrating threat but an architect within the team attacking strategy. He and Josef have been much better in finding spaces that complement runs by the other player and that produced more open space for players last night and against FCD before. Kudos to Parky for ably filling in at left back. Defense was pretty solid on the night. Pity was a bright spot, as well, and I'm very pleased that we got that performance right after his meltdown last week. Shows he and the team have moved not just past but through the issue and everyone is much more on board. His shots are getting closer and his reads of other players is also improving. Keep this up and he'll be fine. Still need to work on the change of pace in transition. Controlling the game is one thing but too often Atlanta let SKC reset their defense. Stripes don't need to constantly race down the field every time but they do need to break with pace on occasion just to keep opponents guessing.