VANCOUVER, B.C. — Atlanta United beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 Wednesday night at BC Place for an MLS record fifth straight clean sheet victory.
Josef Martinez buried his fifth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the first half as Atlanta earned its 12th point in the last 11 days. It was also Brad Guzan’s sixth shutout of the season to run his clean sheet streak to 456 minutes.
“I think if you look at the last couple games, the chances that we are giving up, they’re not as clear cut chances as they were the first few games of the season," Guzan said. "They say the best form of defense is the attack, and I think that’s probably our strongest attribute. When we have the ball and we protect the ball and we take care of it, we’re patient, we find the simple passes, that’s when we’re at our best and I think that’s when we’re able to get at teams.”
Atlanta was awarded a penalty in the 28th minute after Pity Martinez was brought down inside the box. The play began when Josef Martinez and Brek Shea combined for a give and go on the left side where Martinez sent a cross through the six-yard box that was partially cleared and quickly dumped back in the box. Pity Martinez found the ball, made a move towards goal and was dragged down by Vancouver’s Lass Bangoura. The Venezuelan stepped to the spot and placed his shot into the right side of the goal with enough pace to beat a diving Maxime Crépeau in the 29th minute.
"I think we started off a little bit sloppy. With passes lacking concentration, but after 20 minutes we took the control a little bit," United head coah Frank de Boer said. "In the second half we were even more concentrated, and at the end I think the best team won."
Atlanta produced several chances to extend its lead in the second half, most notably in the 59th minute when it had three shots on target in quick succession. Tito Villalba sprinted behind Vancouver’s backline on a counter and took a low shot that was blocked by Crépeau. The ball bounced to a trailing Josef Martinez who quickly found Eric Remedi on the left side of the box where the Argentine midfielder ripped another shot on goal but was again blocked by Crépeau. An attempted clearance was immediately met by a diving header from Pity Martinez, but Crépeau came up with his third save on the play.
Atlanta United (6-3-2, 20 points) returns to action Sunday, May 19 against New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena (5 p.m. EST, FS1, Sports Radio 92-9 The Game).
