Atlanta United gets a point
Rob Valentino secured a point in his first match in charge of Atlanta United, the interim head coach managing a 1-1 result at FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night.
It was Atlanta United’s first match of the season without Gabriel Heinze, fired on Sunday following a 1-0 loss at home to the New England Revolution.
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As is often the case, Atlanta United was the better squad, holding more possession (56 percent), shots (22:14) and shots on target (9:6). But perhaps more impressive was that Atlanta United battled back after going down in the 61st minute off a Luciano Acosta goal.
A team that all often has seen leads evaporate showed some character under Valentino in securing a road draw. Perhaps a bit of that was due to Valentino and his approach, a bit more relaxed than the intense Heinze.
“To be honest, like I said to you guys before, there’s a lot of things I didn’t want to change. There’s a lot of things I thought they’ve done very well. These guys have put in a tremendous amount of work in the past,” Valentino said after the match.
“These things don’t happen overnight and performances like that are building blocks from what they’ve done before. I try to continue on some of the things they’ve done that I feel like I can add as a coach. But I’m also a different coach. I will coach in different ways because it’s just the way it goes, right.
“But we worked on certain ways that we thought we could control space defensively and different ways that we thought we could go and attack at them. The boys put in a really good shift. Honestly, the work that they put in is commendable. I’m so proud of them. I feel like they’ve done the club proud and done the city proud. I’m looking forward to coming home on Saturday.”
Nine minutes after Acosta’s goal, Atlanta United answered back when left back Ronald Martinez right-footed from 15 yards out to capture a share of the points.
The tie has Atlanta United sitting on 14 points and a 2-4-8 record.
Valentino’s difference felt at Atlanta United
As stories continue to circulate about the impact of Heinze – often a negative impact – it is clear that Valentino’s approach is counter to what the locker room was experiencing under the Argentine. While Wednesday’s draw against a struggling FC Cincinnati is not likely to be a turning point in the season, it is clear that the squad felt the difference between the aggressive Heinze and an interim coach in Valentino who is a bit more balanced.
“Now that we have a new coach, he’s asking different things from us,” Hernandez said after the match. “And gives us a little more freedom to enjoy ourselves on the field and I think you can see the difference with all the guys involved and the substitutes and I want to say that we never gave up during the whole game.”
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex’ on Twitter @KristianRDyer