‘Missed opportunity’ turns into loss in Atlanta

Union manager Jim Curtin was left with the sense of a missed opportunity Sunday afternoon.

With his team unable to capitalize on Atlanta United losing its star striker 30 minutes into the game and unable to compensate for missing two starters of their own, the Union huffed and puffed but ended up on the wrong side of a 2-0 decision at Mercedes Benz

Stadium.

“You have to give credit to Atlanta,” Curtin said. “I thought they had a little more intensity and urgency, whatever word you’d like to use. But they beat us to a lot of 50/50 balls, they won a lot of tackles, and we weren’t sharp enough on the day. Not a good enough performance from our group.”

The Union were without Andre Blake, away with Jamaica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and Kai Wagner, who picked up a hamstring injury that is showing progress but still kept him out. Even when Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis went down with an injury in the 30th minute, the Union (106-4, 34 points) couldn’t take advantage.

Though they achieved possession parity with the hosts and fired 15 shots, only one troubled goalie Brad Guzan, a 31st-minute attempt by Daniel Gazdag from outside the box.

That wasn’t enough to claw back a pair of well-finished attempts by the hosts. Atlanta was given a penalty kick in the fourth minute when Nathan Harriel and Giakoumakis tangled in the box, but video review urged referee Ted Unkel to change the penalty to a free kick on the edge of the box, where contact originated.

Atlanta (8-5-8, 32 points) still put it in the back of the net, in what Curtin called, “a silly goal to give away.” Thiago Almada, Atlanta’s Argentine World Cup winner, blasted his initial delivery into the wall, but he was quickest to the ball and rifled a superb follow into the corner of the net, Joe Bendik rooted to the spot.

Brooks Lennon made it 2-0 in the 79th minute, Atlanta passing through the Union in the box. Bendik might have done better on a shot that found its way through his legs, but Curtin conceded that there were more pressing issues on the goal. Instead, it was a pertinent example of Atlanta being quicker to loose balls.

The result drops the Union to 0-4-3 all-time at the Benz, including a playoff loss. The Union slide to fifth in the East, even on points with Columbus but trailing on goals scored tiebreaker. Atlanta is sixth.

“You have to be at your max on the road, and we weren’t sharp enough today,” Curtin said. “We were just OK, and that’s not enough when you go on the road against a quality team like Atlanta.”