Thursday March 28th, 2024 9:37PM

10-man United see fightback dashed in final minutes

By AccessWDUN Staff

ATLANTA — Atlanta United fell 3-2 to Minnesota United on Tuesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tito Villalba and Julian Gressel scored goals for Atlanta after it was sent to 10 men in the second half. However, two late goals from Minnesota snapped the club’s 12-game home unbeaten streak. 

“We were tired, obviously. It’s been a long few weeks but a successful few weeks,” captain Michael Parkhurst said. “We come out of it with just one loss. Obviously, we are disappointed about tonight. We gave it a heck of a fight to come back — down a man, down a goal. We’re disappointed that we couldn’t hold on for the last five or six minutes.”

Minnesota United opened the scoring in the 48th minute from Abu Danladi. The rookie picked up his eighth goal of the year with a perfectly placed left-footed shot from 18 yards out. Then in the 58th minute, Kyle Reynish appeared to win a 50-50 ball against Danladi, however he was sent off with a straight red card after video review. Alex Tambakis came on as a substitute, making his club debut.

Atlanta stormed back, though, scoring twice in the next 15 minutes, starting with Villalba in the 67th minute. Gressel started the play by intercepting a pass as Minnesota attempted to dribble out of the back. Gressel then dribbled through a pair of defenders and sent in a cross that was deflected toward the top of the box where Villalba was stationed. The Argentine winger then ripped a left-footed shot into the goal. 

In the 72nd minute, Gressel gave Atlanta the lead with a blistering shot into the upper left corner. Gressel started the play by winning a ball in the midfield and sending ahead for Yamil Asad, who maneuvered through a few Minnesota defenders before sending Gressel through on the right wing. Gressel pulled back and fired a left-footed shot into the upper left corner for the lead.

But Atlanta ran out of gas late. Christian Ramirez scored in the 90th minute off of a corner that trickled past Tambakis and an Atlanta United defender. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Kevin Molino grabbed the lead by heading in a cross from the left wing.

Atlanta United (15-9-8, 53 points) returns to action Sunday, Oct. 15 when it takes on New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be televised nationally on FS1.

© Copyright 2024 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.