Atlanta United heads on the road for the first of two consecutive road matches this weekend when it takes on the Philadelphia Union in Chester, Pennsylvania. The 5-Stripes are looking to bounce back from a tough home defeat last weekend against New England. This Saturday’s match will be just the third road match of the season. The last time Atlanta was on the road it picked up a 2-2 draw at FC Cincinnati during the March international break. After a hot start to the season, the Union have cooled off with just one point in their last three matches played. Let’s take a look at the Tools to the Match presented by Home Depot against Philadelphia Union.
Match the home team’s intensity from the opening whistle
Subaru Park has been a tough place to pick up victories for Atlanta United over the years. The team’s last victory came in 2018. Atlanta has picked up some draws since then, including last year’s 1-1 result late in the year. The 5-Stripes need to match the intensity that the Union will bring from the opening whistle. Despite changing coaches in the offseason, Philadelphia still plays a straight 4-4-2 formation. Atlanta needs to control the tempo and pace of the match through midfield and not allow the Union to dictate the match on their terms.
Road matches in MLS often come down to intensity and a willingness to fight and lay it all on the line for the group in order to get a positive result. Atlanta needs to bring the intensity from the opening whistle to bring home points on Saturday.
New look Union attack, same positive results
This past offseason brought a lot of changes to the Philadelphia Union. Head coach Jim Curtin was replaced with Bradley Carnell. Midfielders Jack McGlynn and Daniel Gazdag have been transferred out of the club. But the Union came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. They won the first three matches of the season, scoring 10 goals in those three matches.
Striker Tai Baribo has been the main danger man in attack. He has scored six goals on just nine shots on target. Atlanta’s backline needs to mark him closely in and around the box and not give him any quality scoring opportunities. Quinn Sullivan has taken a big step forward in creating scoring opportunities. The young midfielder leads the team with 24 key passes. His pace down the flank could cause another problem for Atlanta’s backline. If the 5-Stripes can maintain focus and concentration for the full 90 minutes, they can secure a positive result this weekend.
Be more clinical in final third
The past couple of matches have shown that Atlanta can create scoring opportunities. They had several chances against both FC Dallas and New England the last couple of weeks, yet they only have one goal and one point to show for it. Atlanta’s attack has to be more clinical in the final third. Especially on the road in MLS, most teams don’t create as many scoring opportunities as they do in home matches. It will be even more crucial this week to finish the scoring chances the team creates. If Atlanta can score early and take the lead, that would give the entire team a boost of confidence that it desperately needs. Only two of the team’s 11 goals this season have been scored in the first 30 minutes of a match. If the attack can be more clinical and finish off the chances the team creates, Atlanta can bring home three points.
