After missing two matches, Zack Steffen and Wil Trapp returned to the Columbus Crew SC lineup as the Black and Gold squared off against the Five Stripes of Atlanta United. The road team was victorious, ending the Crew SC unbeaten streak at nine games.
Atlanta United Ends Columbus Crew SC Unbeaten Streak
The first half was all Atlanta. 72 percent passing accuracy in their attacking half saw Atlanta only muster up two shots. With 63 percent of the possession in the first half, Columbus was definitely caught flat-footed.
Atlanta did score a goal in the 30th minute when a Josef Martinez header went past Steffen to give the road side a 1-0 lead. Martinez also injured himself in the process after colliding heads with Artur. Missing Martinez could be pivotal for Atlanta if he were to miss any games.
He just can’t. Stop. Scoring. ?
Josef jumps out of the building to take the lead! pic.twitter.com/puCMSg4Ek2
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) June 14, 2018
That goal ended Steffen’s personal shutout streak at 525 minutes which is the eighth-best total in MLS history.
Not all the blame can be out on Steffen. The jet lag after playing a full 90-minute match for the United States Men’s National Team, along with the team itself that played four days prior to this match, the legs were heavy and couldn’t keep up.
Columbus almost scored first when Jonathan Mensah headed a Federico Higuain cross towards the far post but just missed, minutes before Atlanta got the opener.
At the half head coach and sporting director, Gregg Berhalter claimed “We got outplayed. We had no sense of urgency.”
Columbus came out with a little more pressure in the second half but still couldn’t find the back of the net.
Hector Villalba doubled the lead for Atlanta. A wonderful transition phase caught Crew SC in a 3v1 situation. Almiron found a trailing Villalba with a low cross and he was able to finish past Steffen making the score 2-0.
What a pass. What a finish.
Welcome back, @TitoVillalba15 ? pic.twitter.com/8uZjjqAI5g
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) June 14, 2018
Columbus almost pulled a goal back with another Pipa-Mensah connection but couldn’t finish.
Although Atlanta sits atop of the standings, head coach Tata Martino didn’t hold back when he said that his team’s recent performances had been lacking.
Final Stats
As mentioned before, Atlanta controlled the game. They ended the match with the highest possession percentage with a 53-47 edge.
From the 65th minute on, Atlanta decided to sit back and absorb the pressure from Columbus. They did just that and that helped them pull out the full three points.
What’s Next?
Columbus is back in action on June 23rd when they travel out west to face off against Los Angeles FC for the first time. Atlanta are back at home on the 24th when they face off against the Portland Timbers.
