Atlanta United kicked off their 2020 campaign last night with the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League match up with FC Motagua, the reigning Honduran champions. Going down south to face any CONCACAF opponent is never easy, add in the fact that this was Atlanta United’s first competitive match since October and Motagua has been playing since August, you knew it was going to be tough. With humidity around 60% it was going to be interesting to see how conditioned the Atlanta squad was.
Frank de Boer sent out a variation of a 3-4-3 for match day 1. Seeing a back line of Fernando Meza, Jeff Larentowicz, and Anton Walkes in the middle with Franco Escobar and Mo Adams as the wing backs. Eric Remedi and Emerson Hyndman ran a double-pivot in the center of the pitch. As expected Barco, Pity, and Josef spearheaded the attack. For me, the most interesting part of the starting XI was that Franco Escobar lined up on the left side.
Most of the first half was sluggish and neither team could get too much going, just trying to feel one another out. Not so surprising seeing this was Atlanta’s first game of the year, an important one at that, and the roster was so different from last year. The guys had some nice one-two’s here and there but you could see the rust on their legs. They just weren’t sharp, but that will come with time. This saw Atlanta try a lot of route one stuff, just kicking the ball down the middle of the field and hoping for the best. Disaster struck in the 34′ minute when Motagua caught Atlanta sleeping and scored. Luckily for us The Stripes did what we do best, and in the 35′ minute responded with a nice little combination that led to Mr. Josef Martinez’s first goal of the year.
Escobar being on the left side of the field is something I don’t want to see again, I feel it took him out of the game totally offensively and wasn’t any good at stopping the onslaught of crosses we took from both sides. Speaking of the other side, Mo Adams was more or less invisible for me and Brooks Lennon didn’t make his presence felt either when he swapped in. I’ll hold my judgment on both these guys, but for now I think Escobar needs to be starting in that right back or right wing back role. You could see Remedi had his timing off just a little and would wait too long to make his decisions. Hyndman did a good job pushing the ball up field and playing at a fast pace. He’ll be trying to fill that void Darlington Nagbe left which will be a tough task, and not too say he’s as good as Nagbe but I think the kid will be just fine. Pity seemed to do a lot of things well but then make the wrong decision in the end, a theme for him last year. (I am very hopeful that Pity will be a much better player this year and show everyone what he can really do). His partner Barco was nonstop energy, even in the last minutes of the game he’s running full sprint getting the ball, dribbling around guys. I am really excited to see what he is going to bring this season. Josef was Josef, I thought he played well combining with his teammates and getting himself a goal (Now Frank de Boer is saying Josef had the Flu and wasn’t feeling well. King Shit). Adam Jahn made a quick little ten minute sneak peak and I’m pretty excited to see what he can do. He’s pretty tall (6’3″) and that route one stuff was perfect for him, knocked a few down off to Josef. It’ll be interesting to see him work with Josef up top. Finally, Brad Fucking Guzan. My man of the match. This dude is 35 years old and he was making saves he had no business touching. I know he just signed a three year contract extension, but give him a lifetime contract. When you say “Cat like reflexes” you are talking about Brad Guzan. He’s big! He’s bald! He’s a mother fucking wall! He’s Brad Guuuuuzan!!!
Can’t have too many take aways from the game, because this team needs to find its identity. With players coming back from injury and other issues (Manuel Castro getting a Visa.) and the team overall gelling together and fining a rhythm I think we should see a better performance next week in the rematch at Kennesaw. We are still left with some questions and I am nervous about the upcoming season. Who is our left back? How much do we trust Larentowicz/Walkes as starting center backs? How far can this team really go in the Champions League? Overall getting a 1-1 draw away in a tough environment, in the first match of the year non the less, should be looked at as a win.
Last note, that ref was fucking garbage. Complete trash.
Sad Atlanta Fan 