Columbus Crew defense falters vs. Atlanta United, ties MLS playoffs first-round series
ATLANTA − In the days leading up to his team’s second first-round MLS playoff game, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy knew his defense would be tasked with chasing Atlanta United’s offense for possession.
It worked in game one, limiting Atlanta to one total shot and challenging his defense to “do the same in a better way.”
Instead, Atlanta found life offensively to beat the Crew 4-2 Tuesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, tying the best-of-three first-round series and forcing a deciding game in Columbus Sunday.
Nancy first credited Atlanta for a "really good game," but that defensively, the Crew "back-pedaled a lot," something he admits his team doesn't usually do, but something the opposing offense forced them to do.
"We were not too aggressive with the front foot in order to be connected and win the ball on the side when we needed to," Nancy said. "The play in the middle, the play out wide, usually we are aggressive and we didn't do it too much."
What proved to be a bend-but-don’t-break and back-pedaling Crew defense through the first 38 minutes turned into two goals for Atlanta United within 11 minutes late in the first half.
After watching a goal get erased in the 17th minute after an off-sides call, Giorgos Giakoumakis raced into the penalty box and took a header from a Brooks Lennon cross and put it in the back of the goal for the first score of the day.
And while a Diego Rossi and Cucho Hernandez combination tied the game seven minutes later, Atlanta United’s offense struck again late into extra time.
Passes from midfielder Saba Lobjanidze and Giakoumakis set up Xande Silva, who poked the ball over the head of Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to take the lead before pulling a Spider Man mask out of his back pocket for his celebration, which netted him a yellow card.
In the second half, Nancy said the Crew had open offensive chances, but that the offense "didn't combine" the way it usually doe, combined with the heightened emotion of playing from behind. While the Crew had six shots in the second half, they only mustered one significant scoring chance: a Hernandez try that landed right into the hands of Guzan.
"We were not clean," Nancy said. "We were not clean."
Atlanta responded with an offensive barrage late in the second half, as Atlanta midfielder Edwin Mosquera and midfielder Thiago Almada scored the team’s third and fourth goals of the game within five minutes to secure the win.
"I think they executed on their chances, and we didn't," Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe said. Not that we didn't but we didn't execute defensively as well. It's just just forwards or defenders. It's as a group."
Atlanta finished with four goals on 14 shots, seven of which were on target.
Max Arfsten cut the Crew's deficit to two with a goal in stoppage time.
The Crew have not allowed four goals to an opponent since their 4-3 loss to Orlando Sept. 16.
Tuesday’s 4-1 loss in Atlanta was the Crew’s first playoff loss since they fell to the New York Red Bulls in the 2018 Eastern Conference semifinals.
And while Nancy knows the Crew's track record for success at home — winning 12 of 17 games at Lower.com Field in the regular season before earning a 2-0 first-round win against Atlanta Nov. 1 — he knows that this deciding third game will not be given to them.
"The idea all the time is to be confident and humble," Nancy said. "So we're going to stay the same. We know that when we play here, the idea is the same. We know when we play at home, the fans are going to be behind us and it's going to be an emotional game. We know that, but at the same time, we love to play at home. We know it won't be easy."
The Crew and Atlanta United will play in a final first-round matchup Sunday to determine which team earns a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals against either Orlando City FC or Nashville SC. Kickoff at Lower.com Field in Columbus is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Atlanta United beats Columbus Crew in MLS playoffs, ties first-round series.
