“There are times when there are warning shots where you say, ‘Hey, we were warned twice and this happened on a cross to the far post’ or something like that,” Valentino said. “What we were punished for tonight was nothing that we would have been warned for once or that had already happened. As far as tonight was concerned, that was not the case.”
Valentino and Derrick Williams did not blame Slisz or Lennon. Slisz’s mistake came when he dropped back into space near the 18-yard box to become a passing outlet and break NYCFC’s pressure. He received the ball and his first touch resulted in the ball going away from him toward the Atlanta United goal. NYCFC’s Monsef Bakrar caught up to him, turned and beat Guzan in the 65th minute. Williams said Slisz has put himself in that position — which is difficult because when he receives the ball he will be surrounded by opposing players — many times this season and he has usually been able to make a pass.
Lennon said he thought he had put his forearm on the NYCFC player, who responded by throwing himself to the ground to take the penalty. Valentino did not say whether he thought it was a penalty, but did say the referee had to make a decision.
Atlanta United wouldn’t have been in a position to concede if not for a drop in intensity in the second half. Atlanta United started better than ever with a goal from Daniel Rios in the 21st second. It was the earliest goal in team history. That was followed by another from Saba Lobjanidze just before halftime. Xande Silva also hit the post.
In the second half, NYCFC dominated possession. MLS measures possession in five-minute segments. NYCFC had the majority of ball possession in six of the first seven segments to start the second half. After their second goal, Atlanta United dominated the next segment and NYCFC took the final one. Atlanta United scored three goals in the first half. Both of their goals came during one of those segments.
“If you want to win the match, you have to work both defensively and offensively,” Lobjanidze said. “There are no excuses.”
While the errors by Slisz and Lennon were new, a lack of focus is not a new problem for Atlanta United. They have two days to fix that before hosting Columbus, the reigning MLS champion.
“That’s a key question, isn’t it?” Guzan said. “It’s a mental thing, it’s a focus thing. You can’t rest on your laurels. You go out and score two goals, you should have scored more in the first half. We had chances in the second half, but we’re still nowhere near the intensity and aggression that we needed throughout the 90 minutes. We let a team back into the game, and we did that tonight with New York City.”
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Atlanta United 2024 Schedule
February 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1
March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0
March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0
March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0
April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1
April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2
April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1
April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1
May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1
May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in the US Open Cup
May 11 DC United 3, Atlanta United 2
May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0
May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1
May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in the US Open Cup
May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0
May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1
June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2
June 15 Atlanta United 2, Houston 2
June 19 Atlanta United 1, DC United 0
June 22 Atlanta United 1, St. Louis 1
June 29 Atlanta United 2, Toronto 1
July 3 New England 2, Atlanta United 1
July 6 Real Salt Lake 5, Atlanta United 2
July 9 vs. Indy Eleven 2, Atlanta United 1
July 13 Montreal 1, Atlanta United 0
July 17 Atlanta United 2, NYCFC 2
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
July 26 vs. DC United in the Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.
August 4 vs. Santos Laguna in the Leagues Cup, 4:00 p.m.
August 24 at LA Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
August 31 in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
September 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
September 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
September 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
September 28 in Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
October 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
October 5th vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
October 19 in Orlando, 6 pm
