Atlanta United's Scoring Drought Continues.
As a follow up to yesterday's 0-0 draw with the New York Red Bulls game:
Atlanta's first shot on goal was in the 46th minute. Some of that was due to NYRB's high pressure which ATL UTD had issues breaking down in the first 30 minutes.
Alan Franco came off the bench for the injured Franco Ibarra. He struggled early on but I thought he played well overall. Just as importantly, Franco got forward in both the run of play and with set pieces.
Erick 'Cubo' Torres showed signs of getting into good areas and challenging well in the air. Unfortunately, he has not scored in almost 300 minutes of play.
Ezequiel Barco worked hard, and though he has no concept of winning 50/50 balls, he did track back many times to help with the NYRB's counter attack. One goal and one assist in 525 minutes of play.
Ibarra's injury allowed Santiago Sosa to move more into the midfield with Alan Franco supporting Anton Walkes and Miles Robinson. Sosa in no way is Emerson Hyndman, but is this the go-forward answer to strengthen the spine with 24 regular season games left?
With Venezuela out of Copa America, Josef Martinez will return to the States and depending on possible quarantine issues, could get playing time this Saturday night in Chicago.
Atlanta United sits 10th in the Eastern Conference and has taken only twelve points out of a possible 30. At 2 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses, yesterday's game, as mentioned in my last post was a tipping point. It is time for some changes with the player pool, both in the way the roster is built and a possible move or two in the summer transfer window.
Does time heal all? With ten regular season games to work through the player pool and MLS nuances, will Gabriel Heinze be able to impose his will on this team? With Josef Martinez back in the fold, will the attack once again put the ball in the back of the net? It's just my take. @gary11213 justmytake.net