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Atlanta United FC

Atlanta United Drops First Game of Season vs. Columbus Crew

March 25, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Atlanta United FC News Release


Atlanta United's Amar Sejdić in action
Atlanta United's Amar Sejdić in action
(Atlanta United FC)

ATLANTA - Atlanta United lost its first match of the 2023 MLS season Saturday night, losing 6-1 to Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field. Noah Cobb made his MLS debut and became the youngest player in club history to start, or appear, in a match. Cobb was one of three changes to the starting lineup that Gonzalo Pineda was forced to make in lieu of being down seven players who were called up for international duty this week.

Columbus opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Alexandru Matan dribbled near the Atlanta goal and sent a low cross that ricocheted off Santiago Sosa and over the head of a pair of defenders before Aidan Morris headed home from six yards out.

Tyler Wolff made his season debut, coming on for an injured Andrew Gutman just before halftime, where Atlanta went into the locker room down 1-0. However, Columbus quickly added to the lead after the break, scoring four times in the opening 25 minutes. Christian Ramirez started the scoring in the 47th minute, followed by Philip Quinton (51'), Ramirez again (64') and Jacen Russell-Rowe (68').

Brooks Lennon got Atlanta on the board in the 71st minute. Caleb Wiley started the play by dribbling deep into the final third before playing a ball back into the box. Morris tried to corral it, but it slipped out to Atlanta's right back, who stepped right into it and sent a low, hard shot to the far post.

Columbus added a sixth in second-half stoppage time from Max Arfsten.

Atlanta United returns to action when it hosts New York Red Bulls on Saturday, April 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass, 92.9 The Game, La Mejor). All Atlanta United matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app.

Match Summary

Stats

Shots: 15-2 Columbus

Shots on target: 6-1 Columbus

Corner kicks: 8-2 Columbus

Fouls Committed: 15-11 Columbus

xG: 2.01-0.07 Columbus

Possession: 54-46 Columbus

Passing accuracy: 85-83 Columbus

Scoring

CLB - Aidan Morris 14'

CLB - Christian Ramirez (Russell-Rowe) 47'

CLB - Philip Quinton (Matan) 51'

CLB - Christian Ramirez (Moreira) 64'

CLB - Jacen Russell-Rowe (Farsi) 68'

ATL - Brooks Lennon 71'

CLB - Max Arfsten (Sands) 90+1'

Disciplinary

ATL - Tyler Wolff 45+2 🟨

ATL - Franco Ibarra 58' 🟨

CLB - Alexandru Matan 81' 🟨 Notes

Noah Cobb made his MLS debut.

At 17 years, 258 days, Cobb became the youngest player in club history to appear (and start) an MLS game.

Caleb Wiley previously held the club record at 18 years, 65 days.

Franco Ibarra won 6 tackles, which is tied for second-most in a single-match in club history.

Tyler Wolff made his season debut.

Erik Lopez made his season debut.

Andrew Gutman left the match in the 42nd minute with an injury.

Gonzalo Pineda was issued a yellow card, his first of the season.

Attendance: 19,249

ATLANTA UNITED STARTING LINEUP

GK: Brad Guzan (c)

D: Brooks Lennon

D: Noah Cobb

D: Juanjo Purata

D: Andrew Gutman (Tyler Wolff - 45')

M: Franco Ibarra

M: Amar Sejdic (Erik Lopez - 65')

M: Santiago Sosa (Ajani Fortune - 73')

M: Luiz Araujo

M: Caleb Wiley

F: Miguel Berry (Matheus Rossetto - 73')

Substitutes not used:

Quentin Westberg

Aiden McFadden

Luke Brennan

Nick Firmino

Alan Carleton COLUMBUS CREW STARTING LINEUP

GK: Patrick Schulte

D: Philip Quinton

D: Gustavo Vallecilla

D: Will Sands

D: Steven Moreira

M: Darlington Nagbe (c) (Sean Zawadzki - 73')

M: Aidan Morris (Isaiah Parente - 89')

M: Alexandru Matan

M: Mohamed Farsi

F: Christian Ramirez (Yaw Yeboah - 73')

F: Jacen Russell-Rowe (Max Arftsen - 82')

Substitutes not used:

Evan Bush

Keegan Hughes

Jake Morris

Jimmy Medranda

OFFICIALS

Ramy Touchan (referee), Adam Garner (assistant), Nicholas Balcer (assistant), Joshua Encarnacion (fourth), Carol Anne Chenard (VAR), Tyler Wyrostek (AVAR).

Check out the Atlanta United FC Statistics




Images from this story

Atlanta United's Amar Sejdić in action
Atlanta United's Amar Sejdić in action
   

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