Sports stats



USL Atlanta United 2

ATL UTD 2 Wins 2-0 in Season Opener against Hartford Athletic

March 9, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Atlanta United 2 News Release


KENNESAW, Ga. - Atlanta United 2 won its season opener 2-0 against USL Championship expansion team Hartford Athletic Saturday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. Jon Gallagher and Brandon Vazquez each scored while eight players made their team debuts.

"I am really happy. The lads worked really hard and had some great performances too," ATL UTD 2 head coach Stephen Glass said. "The team had great quality on the ball and worked great off of it. They looked like they wanted to fight and win the game, so I am really happy with the group."

After a fast start which saw attempts on target from Vazquez, Dion Pereira and George Bello inside the first half hour, Atlanta broke through in the 30th minute. Gallagher dribbled past a defender on the right wing and charged toward the 18-yard-box from the right side. The Irishman laid the ball off to Vazquez and ran into the penalty area looking for a return pass. Vazquez quickly took a shot which deflected off a Hartford defender. Gallagher continued his run as the ball fell to him, one-on-one with the goalkeeper where he buried a right-footed shot to put Atlanta up 1-0.

After taking five shots in the first half, Vazquez scored a well-earned goal in the 80th minute. Anderson Asiedu lead a break towards goal and played Vazquez down the left side. The forward dribbled into the 18-yard-box, deked a defender to create space and curled a shot into the upper-right corner to put the match away. Vazquez took a game-high eight shots and put three on target.

George Campbell was named Man of the Match in his professional debut. The 17-year-old center back completed a game-high 73 passes and recorded two tackles. He highlighted his night in the 64th minute when Hartford's Sebastian Dalgaard was in on goal and Campbell chased down the midfielder with a sliding block to deny his shot out of play for a corner, which was ultimately cleared.

Atlanta presented a starting lineup which saw five players make their team debut including goalkeeper Brendan Moore, defenders Campbell and Florentin Pogba and midfielders Pereira and Asiedu. It was also Asiedu's professional debut. Will Vint, a 17-year-old midfielder from Atlanta United's Academy, came on in the second half to make his first professional appearance.

ATL UTD 2 (1-0-0, 3 points) returns to action Friday, March 15 against Louisville City FC at 7:30 p.m. EST at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

LINE SCORE

Atlanta 2, Hartford 0

Fifth Third Bank Stadium

Kennesaw, Georgia

STATS

Shots: 17-15 Atlanta

Shots on Target: 8-6 Atlanta

Corner kicks: 4-7 Hartford

Fouls committed: 8-7 Atlanta

Saves: 6-6 Tied

Offside: 0-4 Hartford

Possession: 58-42 Atlanta

Passing Accuracy: 85-74 Atlanta

SCORING SUMMARY

ATL - Jon Gallagher 30' [HIGHLIGHT]

ATL - Brandon Vazquez (Anderson Asiedu) 80' [HIGHLIGHT]

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

HAR - Tyler David (yellow) 72'

ATL - Jackson Conway (yellow) 90+1'

ATLANTA UNITED 2 STARTING LINEUP

Brendan Moore; George Campbell, Tyler Ruthven, Florentin Pogba (Luiz Fernando - 71'); George Bello (Guillermo Benitez - 67'), Jon Gallagher (Will Vint 55'), Anderson Asiedu, Jack Metcalf ©; Jackson Conway, Dion Pereira, Brandon Vazquez.

Substitutes not used: Dylan Castanheira, Alessandro Castro, Jose Hernandez, Patrick Okonkwo.

HARTFORD ATHETIC STARTING LINEUP

Jacob Lissek; Sam de Wit, Nikolaj Lyngo, Tyler David, Raymond Lee; Wojciech Wojcik (Ryan Williams - 59'), Mads Jorgensen, Philip Rasmussen; Hugh Alexander Dixon (Giuseppe Gentile - 45'), José Angulo (Mac Steeves - 76'), Sebastian Dalgaard.

Substitutes not used: Michael Downs, Jonathan Brown, Michael Novotny, Scott DeVoss.

ATTENDANCE

2,037

OFFICIALS

Gustavo Solorio (referee), Brian Marshall (assistant), Kevin Huet (assistant), Christopher Heintzman (fourth).

TEAM NOTES

Academy players George Campbell and Will Vint made their professional debuts

Anderson Asiedu made his professional debut

Florentin Pogba, Dion Pereira, Brendan Moore, Guillermo Benitez and Luiz Fernando made their club debuts

Jon Gallagher scored his first goal of the season

Brandon Vazquez scored his first goal of the season

Asiedu registered his first professional assist

Moore kept a clean sheet and saved six shots

ATL UTD 2 is undefeated in season openers, 2-0-0 all-time

ABOUT ATL UTD 2

ATL UTD 2 is owned and operated by AMB Sports & Entertainment and is the United Soccer League (USL) affiliate of Major League Soccer's Atlanta United. ATL UTD 2 joined USL for its expansion 2018 season and plays its 2019 home matches at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Check out the Atlanta United 2 Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 9, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central