Sometimes in life, and in sports, you need a little bit of luck. Atlanta United got it against FC Dallas on Wednesday. Atlanta going into the match hadn’t won in their last 6 games. Their opponents, FC Dallas, were on a 3-game win streak. It was definitely a tough ask for a struggling Atlanta side.
The first bit of luck for Atlanta United was actually the choice of FC Dallas coach, Luchi Gonzalez. He decided not to start two of his Designated Players (DPs) in Franco Jara and Harold Mosquera. I’m not exactly sure the reasoning behind the decision, but I would guess it has to do with the fixture congestion almost every MLS club is facing right now. This decision, and Ezequiel Barco missing out for Atlanta United, meant that both teams were heading into the game with no DPs on the field.
Atlanta surprisingly took advantage of a weakened FC Dallas side in the first half. One player in particular that stood out was Jon Gallagher. This is one of the few, if not only time, he has played at center striker for the fives stripes. This was the position he played throughout his collegiate career at Notre Dame. So, it was kind of surprising to see him playing at right and left back as well as right and left wing for Atlanta’s first team and USL affiliate. Today, I think he showed why Atlanta should look to play him in his assumingly preferred position. His pace and work rate added something completely different to the attack than in the recent weeks with Adam Jahn and Cubo Torres. And quite frankly, I think what he added is something Atlanta has desperately needed since Josef Martinez went down injured earlier in the season.
With Gallagher playing in the center forward role Atlanta looked like a completely different team against Dallas. It is important to take Atlanta’s first half performance with a grain of salt since Dallas didn’t have their DPs in. However, at the same time, neither did Atlanta.
One thing I have continuously highlighted over this 6-game winless streak, is the lack of cohesion throughout the team. This game they fixed that, and it was a pretty simple fix; effort. All it took was for the team to work hard throughout the game and the cohesion I’ve been talking about naturally came with it. The team has looked lifeless in the last few weeks, but today they clearly wanted to make things right.
If Gallagher’s importance at striker wasn’t clear to you in the first half, I think the second half proves it. At half-time Miles Robinson and Matheus Rossetto both were subbed off due to injuries according to Stephen Glass. This saw the inclusion of Adam Jahn and Eric Remedi. With Jahn coming into the game it pushed Gallagher out wide where he wasn’t as affective. And as a result, the team wasn’t as affective going forward as they were in the first half. I do think part of the team’s performance had to do with a more defensive tactic after Atlanta scored their goal, but I still think the play before the goal showed the impact Gallagher had playing in that central position up top.
Now for the goal. There was certainly a little bit of luck for the referee to award a penalty kick, deeming Matt Hedges guilty of a hand ball. However, when you’re on a 6-game winless streak against a team on a 3-game win streak of their own, sometimes you need a little bit of luck. After the penalty was given, captain Jeff Larentowicz stepped up to the spot, sent the goalie the wrong way, and gave Atlanta their first lead since August 22nd. For the first time in a while the team could protect something rather than chasing something. And for the rest of the game that’s what they did. Other than a really good counterattack that ended in a great save from a Laurence Wyke shot and a great block from a Remedi rebound, Atlanta were very defensive in the second half. FC Dallas subbed on both Jara and Mosquera with about 20 minutes remaining. While they created a few chances, Atlanta did fairly well to thwart any of their potential threat. And at the end of the day Atlanta came away with the 1-0 victory.
This was a much-improved performance from an Atlanta United side that really needed things to go their way. Things started in that direction in this game with a little bit of luck, and a lot of hard work. Don’t get me wrong, this was a much-deserved win for Atlanta. And this is the first time in a while that you can say that. This team now needs to build on this performance and continue to trend in the right direction. This is one game. The hope is they start to get consistent with performances like this one. And with 10 games to go, if this team starts to trend in the right direction, anything can happen. At the time of writing this Atlanta have jumped up to a playoff spot in 10th place. So, as most of the season has been, even with a struggling team, the playoffs are still somehow very realistically within reach.
One thing that might help the team is their new signing. Marcelino Moreno is a player that I think will fit in really well with Atlanta. While they played a lot better today, they still had some flaws to their game. One of those was sloppy giveaways which hopefully will be cleaned up with time and better performances. The other, is the lack of giving players options on offense. There aren’t enough times that players are willing to show short. They make runs long and when they’re already in the final third they all go into the box looking for a cross. There’s not really any build up play. That’s where I think Moreno can come in as an attacking midfielder that’s willing to show short and create the offense from a little deeper. This could be the change the team needs to show the attacking play fans have become accustomed to over the years.
This game against Dallas could be a huge turning point for Atlanta. This was a win that snapped a 6-game winless streak, and it was done without any DPs on the field. When you think of it that way you start to see a lot of positive possibilities in the future for the team. Barco should come back in the next few games if not the next one. Josef has been more and more active with his injury, so it’s not out of the question that he could return before or during playoffs (if the team makes them,) and Moreno will come into the fray in the next few weeks. This team showed today what we all thought we knew. If they play to the level they’re capable of, they have enough talent without the DPs to get results. If they can continue to play at that level and bring back DPs one by one, the team could turn into a real contender.
Of course, a lot has to come to fruition for that to happen. And a few more poor performances after this one could make sure it doesn’t. But, if things start to go right, and this truly was a turning point, this team could be on the way up. And after 6 games of pretty bad soccer for the fans to go through, this has the makings of an exciting, and possibly unexpected, end to the season for the Five Stripes.