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Atlanta United: Analyzing their seven losses from the 2018 season

By Josh Bouland

HARRISON, NJ - SEPTEMBER 30: Atlanta United head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino prior to the Major League Soccer game between the New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United on September 30, 2018 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
HARRISON, NJ - SEPTEMBER 30: Atlanta United head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino prior to the Major League Soccer game between the New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United on September 30, 2018 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA MAY 9: Atlanta’s Jeff Larentowicz (18) and Michael Parkhurst (3) argue with referee Mark Gieger (center) after goalkeeper Brad Guzan (1) was given a red card during the match between Atlanta United and Kansas City on May 9, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. Sporting Kansas City defeated Atlanta United FC 2 0. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA MAY 9: Atlanta’s Jeff Larentowicz (18) and Michael Parkhurst (3) argue with referee Mark Gieger (center) after goalkeeper Brad Guzan (1) was given a red card during the match between Atlanta United and Kansas City on May 9, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. Sporting Kansas City defeated Atlanta United FC 2 0. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

May 9 vs Sporting KC

Atlanta didn’t experience many weird games this season, but this contest definitely falls into that category. For starters, it was a rare midweek match. Both teams were top of their conference tables at the time, so the match held a significant amount of weight. Shortly before half time though, things began to go wrong for Atlanta.

How Sporting KC Won: Kansas City held Atlanta scoreless at Mercedes Benz Stadium in the regular season for the first (and so far only) time. The final score read 2-0 after two second half goals. Atlanta had their opportunities in the match: an early Josef Martinez goal was wiped away by VAR and free kick connoisseur Kevin Kratz had two sweet opportunities toward the end of the match. However, with the help of an extra man, SKC kept Atlanta from scoring.

What went wrong: Murphy’s Law took over this match for Atlanta. Brad Guzan received a red card for a foul outside of the box labeled as denial of a goalscoring opportunity. Normally Guzan being sent off wouldn’t be a problem since Alec Kann is a fantastic back up. However, Kann was not in the game day eighteen because of a lingering knee injury. Fortunately, Atlanta signed USL standout Mitch Hilldebrandt in the offseason. Unfortunately, Hilldebrandt was also dealing with a knee injury and was also absent from the eighteen. That left emergency signee, Paul Christensen. The young keeper could only do so much with Atlanta down a man, and the team eventually fell to SKC.

The bright spot: Christensen got some precious first team minutes despite being an emergency back up. Kann returned from injury the following week to play in place of the suspended Guzan, so Christensen didn’t see any more minutes with the first team the rest of the season. Luckily, the young goalkeeper got some experience, which will bode well for his future with the club and for any potential trade value down the road.

The takeaway: This game was an anomaly to say the least. It hardly represented a fair match between the teams considering Atlanta played down a man for most of the match and played with their fourth string goalkeeper. It was an unfortunate result for what should have been a great early season match up.

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