Atlanta United have now dropped 18 points from a winning position during the 2021 season, and their latest slip-up has dinged their bid for an Audi MLS Cup Playoff home game.
The Five Stripes allowed an 88th-minute equalizer to Toronto FC homegrown forward Jordan Perruzza on Saturday night, forcing them to settle for a 1-1 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Luiz Araujo took advantage of a goalkeeper turnover to open the scoring.
That capped a three-game home swing where Atlanta took five of nine points, keeping them one point above the Eastern Conference’s playoff line. They’ll finish Week 34 in fifth or sixth place, and hopes of hosting a Round One game come mid-November are slipping away.
“We need to quit making those same mistakes,” center back Miles Robinson said. “We need to understand that in these games where it’s 1-0, we have to lock it in and we just can’t concede. It’s happened numerous times this season where we have conceded in the last 10 minutes and it’s so frustrating. It’s one of those things we need to bounce back from because we play again in three days. This game is over now.”
Atlanta had plenty of chances against Toronto FC, generating 19 shots and winning the expected goals battle 2.6-0.9. But the likes of Ezequiel Barco and Josef Martinez weren’t clinical enough, leaving the door ajar for the visitors to steal points.
Head coach Gonzalo Pineda was left shaking his head at a draw that surely felt like a loss.
“It’s how do you close out the game in a better way? I think scoring goals is the best way,” Pineda said. “When we are not able to do that because we are just not clinical, it is really hard. Today we created many chances, but it wasn’t a typical day for our forwards to miss so many chances. Not too much to say. We lost two points again at home and I’m very disappointed.”
Now, Atlanta conclude their regular season with two road games that’ll decide if the 2018 MLS Cup champions even return to the playoffs after missing out last year. The first is an East six-pointer on Wednesday against the New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+), then there’s a Decision Day capper at FC Cincinnati on Nov. 7.
Plenty’s on the line, and Atlanta players need little reminding.
“We have two finals left to play. Those are six points,” Barco said. “A lot of teams are fighting for those last playoff spots. We are going to play two finals and try to get those six points and try to make the playoffs.”
As for the pressure this time of year? Pineda feels that’s inherent to the club, and now they must respond.
“We are Atlanta United and pressure is normal,” Pineda said. “That is not an issue for us or something that concerns me. It’s about how we can recover from this game mentally and physically because there are going to be four games in a row at the end of the day and we need to be ready to go. But I don’t feel any different pressure than the same pressure that we always have being a big club with the big demands that Atlanta United has.”
