Atlanta United hoped the team's first trip to Florida on the season would turn things around following back-to-back shutout losses, but as the night went on, Orlando City SC grew more comfortable and Atlanta's troubles continued, and the 5-Stripes fell on the road at Inter&Co Stadium.
Final score: Orlando City SC 3, Atlanta United 0
What happened: Atlanta United and Orlando City entered the contest feeling some pressure to score. Heading into Saturday, both teams had gone multiple matches without a goal, leading to some concerns of underperformance after the first nine matches of the regular season. A nervous start meant a reliance on defense, and only one shot was taken in the opening 25 minutes. The play began with a ball over the top of Brooks Lennon to Luis Muriel making a late run. The ball went inside and Kyle Smith's shot in the 15th minute went wide for Orlando.
On the Atlanta side, Saba Lobjanidze and Pedro Amador on the left side had some ideas. At one point Amador drifted inside then swung the ball to Saba out wide. Saba combined with Amador then sent a dangerous-looking cross into the box that Orlando cleared away for an Atlanta corner kick. A takeaway created another promising moment between the two players a few minutes later and led to a decent cross from Amador.
Jamal Thiaré, earning the start in place of the suspended Emmanuel Latte Lath, took Atlanta's first shot of the match on a header in the 26th minute. Saba again was a creator for Atlanta’s second shot of the night, a curling ball off Alexey Miranchuk's left foot that rolled wide of frame in the 34th.
After Atlanta cleared the ball away following an Orlando attack, and Mateusz Klich made an attempt for Atlanta, officials stopped play to check for a possible penalty on a collision inside the box between Bartosz Slisz, Luis Abram, and Muriel for Orlando. After VAR, the official called a foul inside the box on Slisz. Orlando was awarded a penalty kick, and Muriel converted to score Orlando’s first goal in more than 300 minutes.
In the final moments of the half, Saba took a few dribbles toward the near post and drilled a shot, which required an awkward save from Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Saba finished the first 45 with two key passes, but his team went into the halftime break trailing 1-0. For the sixth consecutive half, the 5-Stripes were held scoreless.
Orlando came out of the intermission with their foot on the pedal and took three shots in the first two minutes of the half. The first possession out of the kickoff resulted in an ambitious shot from Marco Pašalić. Then, Orlando attacked again on the next possession and found Duncan McGuire in the center of the box. Amador slid to make a massive block as McGuire set up his shot, and the fullback's valiant effort alleviated some of the early second-half pressure on Atlanta’s veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan -- at least for the time being.
Head coach Oscar Pareja's group continued their tireless pursuit, and the Lions found their second goal in the 51st minute. Following a throw-in, Orlando switched the ball to the right side. Inside the box, 1v1 with center back Luis Abram, Alex Freeman put the ball on his right foot and slotted it far post to make the score 2-0 Orlando.
After Guzan came up with a huge diving save, reaching out with his fingertips to stop a low-driven shot from Muriel, a few bad clearances from Atlanta United opened the door for a third Orlando City goal. Pašalić put the ball on his left foot and the DP's long-distance strike froze Guzan in his spot. The forward's fifth goal of the season put Orlando ahead 3-0 in the 67th minute.
Atlanta United head coach Ronny Deila sent on a few substitutes to try and provide some juice in the waning moments of action. Edwin Mosquera, Matt Edwards, and Jay Fortune replaced Saba, Lennon, and Klich.
Later, Luke Brennan, making his season debut, and Ronald Hernández subbed on for Thiaré and Amador.
With fresh legs, Atlanta United created a few chances. Edwards sent a tempting ball into the box in the 84th minute that ended with Mosquera skying a shot over goal. In the end, Atlanta United couldn't find the back of the net for the third consecutive match, and the team lost their third straight.
Quote from head coach Ronny Deila:
"We have to accept the situation right now. It’s not a situation we want to be in. At the same time, we are in it. So, talking about results now that’s not the right way to see it. We have to think about our performances, and they are not good enough. It’s not as good as we can be, we have shown that earlier in the season. As I said to my players also, it cannot be, I think the bottom is reached in a way. Now, it’s about how we can turn this around. Then we learn more about ourselves and about each other as a group. Then we will come stronger from it. That I’m sure.”
Key Stat: Atlanta United finished the match without a shot on goal compared to six for Orlando City SC. This number looks lopsided when considering the number of times Atlanta United had the opportunity to put the ball in dangerous areas.
Entering Matchday 10, Atlanta ranked sixth in MLS in corner kicks and sixth in crosses from open play. The 5-Stripes eclipsed Orlando in these two categories on the night: 9-2 in total crosses and 5-3 in corner kicks. Failing to turn chances into goals is a pattern Atlanta United wasn't able to change Saturday night.
Standout: Noah Cobb, who made his second start of the season for Atlanta United. With Atlanta missing their two leading center backs, Derrick Williams and Stian Gregersen, it was up to 19-year-old Cobb along with Abram to keep Atlanta's defense organized against Pašalić, the designated player from Germany.
Even though eventually Orlando capitalized on Atlanta's poor clearances, Cobb showed a gutsy willingness to defend hard and play physical against a club that was one match away from an MLS Cup appearance one season ago. He played the full 90 and even took a hard collision in the box during second-half stoppage time, going up to battle for a corner kick, and bounced right up off the turf for another round.
Milestones:
- Noah Cobb made his second start of the season.
- Jamal Thiaré made his first start of the season.
- Luke Brennan made his first MLS appearance of the season.
Up next: After back-to-back away trips, Atlanta United gets a break from being on the road and returns for a home match next Saturday. The 5-Stripes host Nashville SC for an afternoon kick at 2:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on May 3.
