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ATL UTD 2 had some strong spells of play early in Saturday night’s match against Louisville City FC, but it didn’t turn into goals as the defending USL champions struck three times in the first half en route to a 4-1 win at Coolray Field.
Atlanta had a great opportunity to get on the board first on a free kick from Romario Williams in the 19th minute, but Tim Dobrowolski was up to the task as he made a nice stop to keep the match scoreless. But Louisville took the lead in the 24th off a corner kick that deflected off of A.J. Cochran and behind Paul Christensen to make it 1-0. In the 37th, Kyle Smith got a bit too much space to the right of Christensen and fired a nice shot home to make it 2-0 in favor of Louisville, a lead that grew to 3-0 moments later courtesy of a cross headed in by George Davis IV and to 4-0 in the 69th as Cochran was charged with another own goal.
ATL UTD 2 finally got on the board as a nice ball from Jack Metcalf to Williams saw the striker put his team on the board in the 71st to deny Louisville a shutout.
.@iam_pavyrgwvii calm and composed in the final third pic.twitter.com/jYrRQEoatc
— ATL UTD 2 (@atlutd2) September 30, 2018
“I think the tough thing for me, our staff and our players is that the first 20-25 minutes, we dominate. We dictate the match, and we have to get more out of that good play,” said ATL UTD 2 coach Scott Donnelly. “But then our inexperience shows, because we look a little fragile. Granted, we are young and playing a good team that’s organized and well coached, hungry for goals. We have to be more resilient though.”
Atlanta’s seven-game homestand to end the season continues as it welcomes the Tampa Bay Rowdies to Gwinnett on Wednesday. Kickoff for that one is set for 7 p.m.
ATL UTD 2 Starting XI: Paul Christensen, Jose Hernandez, Jon Gallagher, A.J. Cochran, Miles Robinson, Chris Goslin, Jack Metcalf (c), Laurent Kissiedou, Lagos Kunga, Ollie Shannon, Romario Williams
Bench: Nico Caraux, Kevin Barajas, Alessandro Castro, Andrew Kendall-Moullin
Substitutions: Conway 68’ (Kissiedou); Nicklaw 73’ (Kunga); Sandoval 85’ (Williams)