Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda praised his team for their resilience in their 1-1 draw with Columbus Crew, citing the team’s ‘championship-winning’ mentality.
When Atlanta play at home at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, their fans show up expecting to see them score a few goals and dominate the game on their terms. However, against the Crew, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
The Five Stripes often found themselves playing like the away team in the first half, as Columbus amassed 56% in the first 45 but the game remained at a 0-0 deadlock. The visitors even got in front after Cucho Hernandez finally got the better of Brad Guzan, who made five saves on the night.
But from the point on, it was all Atlanta.
Atlanta ended up sharing an equal amount possession of possession with Columbus — 50% — despite having 12 less shots over the duration of the game. Pineda’s side kept plugging away, with efforts finally rewarded in the 97th minute as center-back Miles Robinson found the back of the net from a last-gasp set piece from MLS MVP candidate Thiago Almada.
“Today, Columbus I think was better than us in many ways, and I felt that tactically we could have done a bit better on and off the ball. What I take from today’s performance and kind of summarize the season, is the fight. The team was always present. Always, many many games where we were fighting until the end,” Pined said after the draw.
“Sometimes we were not playing probably at our best, but we’re fighting till the end and that’s a signature for a championship team… Columbus, they have a very good team, a very good coach. We earned one point and that’s very valuable to me.”
Pineda explained his players did everything he asked of them, adding the Crew were simply just better than his team on the night thanks to the likes of Hernandez, Aidan Morris and Diego Rossi as well as head coach Wilfried Nancy.
“Well, I take it on me this time. I think the players did everything we asked for. Everything. It’s just a tactical switch that Columbus did that we couldn’t fix until the first half and after that there was more of an open game,” he said.
“The second half, I would say we knew that this was an opponent that was very similar to us always wanting the ball. Always disrupting, and when they break through the middle, they change the pace very similar to what we do with Thiago [Almada] and Brooks [Lennon] in the pocket or Tristan [Muyumba], and then we change the pace, and we attack with some danger.”
The Five Stripes are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference table with just one more regular season clash on the table, and they’ll take on the Supporters’ Shield champions and MLS Cup favorites FC Cincinnati on Decision Day (October 21) as they look to finish in fifth place ahead of New England Revolution.
“In the international window, guys will come back from long flights and international games, how many minutes they will play so we don’t risk any injury, but also push for the best possible,” Pineda added.
“Maybe the best possible we can get now is fifth [place]. We have to push for that, but there is a bit of a balance there. A couple of objectives there but I have to make up my mind after tonight’s game, and we’ll come up with a plan for sure.”
Sign up now for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to watch all the action from the 2023 Major League Soccer season. Click here to subscribe!
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
90 Mins
