CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Atlanta United manager Ronny Deila said on Thursday that he wasn’t worried so much about the result of Saturday’s first preseason friendly at Chattanooga. He was more interested in seeing how his players reacted to situations.
It was just the first game, but …
Atlanta United gave up two goals within seven minutes of scoring to take a 1-0 lead in the 80th minute and lost 2-1 on Saturday at Finley Stadium.
Deila said he never likes to lose but he wasn’t worried about the late goals.
‘It’s good to see all the players, get some answers, get to know them, they get to know me,” he said. “I think the second half, it was the best half we had. I think we had full control, but we give away a ball in behind and in a set play, so that’s disappointing. Always disappointed when they lose, but I think that application was good.”
Ronan Wynne scored what seemed likely to be the winning goal in the 80th minute on a corner kick by Saba Lobjanidze. It was Atlanta United’s eighth corner. It came on the team’s third shot on goal.
In a flashback to a negative trend Atlanta United experienced last season, Chattanooga’s Jesus Ibarra scored the tying goal three minutes later after he avoided a slide tackle by Efrain Morales and then rounded Josh Cohen. Deila described the goal as coming from nothing.
Chattanooga scored the winning goal in the 87th minute when a free kick from the right wasn’t cleared as it arrowed toward the 6-yard box. One Chattanooga player caught up to the loose ball in the goalmouth and passed it to another to tap in. Neither player was listed on Chattanooga’s roster.
“I know where we’re going to go,” Deila said. “And I’ve painted that picture for 14 days, and I need time to get that into everybody. But we need to learn from what we had done last year and try to improve the trends that is happening. But it’s not worrying me.”
A Morales header that would have tied the match was saved in the 90th minute. An excellent volley by Edwin Mosquera was pushed over the cross bar in the third minute of stoppage time.
Atlanta United’s 11 for the first half was set up as a 4-3-3 and composed of Brad Guzan in goal, Noah Cobb and Luis Abram as centerbacks, Matthew Edwards and Dominik Chong Qui as fullbacks, Tristan Muyumba, Mateusz Klich, Xande Silva, Luke Brennan and Alexey Miranchuk in the midfield, and Jamal Thiare as striker.
The team has spent the first two weeks of training camp working on creating overlaps in attack, and when not in possession of the ball pressing the opponent and defending the middle of the field. When Atlanta United didn’t have the ball, two midfielders typically played in front of the back four.
Atlanta United’s best chance in attack came in the 35th minute when Edwards used an overlap to get down the right side of the field and onto a through ball from Brennan. His cross found Miranchuk near the top of the 18-yard box. His left-footed shot grazed the outside of the left post and away for a goal kick.
Chattanooga’s best chance before the goals came in the 38th minute when a turnover near midfield created a counterattack down the middle of the pitch. The shot went over the crossbar.
Atlanta United created another opportunity in the 44th minute when Thiare found Brennan, who after dribbling a few yards tried to hit a return to Thiare. The pass went just wide and the attack ended.
Guzan said he liked that Atlanta United’s attacks were sustained. If the first cross was cleared, Atlanta United won the ball or created a turnover and would attack again.
“Anytime you play a real opponent, you’re able to see things that maybe don’t come out in training as much,” he said. “You know the pitch certainly played a decent part in the quality, I think, of the execution, of whether it’s passes, touches, turns, crosses, all that.”
Guzan also said he thought that defensively spaces were monitored well when Atlanta United committed numbers in attack. He said Klich and Muyumba each got back to break up attacks, which he said may have gone unnoticed but were important.
“A good exercise,” Guzan said.
The second-half lineup was composed of Cohen in goal, Morales and Stian Gregersen as the centerbacks, Ronald Hernandez and Wynne as the fullbacks, Bartosz Slisz, Jay Fortune, Will Reilly, Mosquera and Lobjanidze in the midfield and Cayman Togashi at striker. Fullback Pedro Amador and centerback Derrick Williams weren’t used as a precaution.
Reilly hit a dangerous, low cross in the 58th minute that was cleared over the goal by a Chattanooga defender.
Lobjanidze put in a cross from the right in the 72nd minute that Togashi just missed heading at the near post. A Togashi shot from 12 yards away on the left was saved in the 73rd minute.
“There was an even game, and in the end, we lost because of details,” Deila said. “I get irritated to lose, but at the same time I understand that it’s the first game. We are here to practice, but we want to win at the same time, and that’s why we’re a little bit disappointed.”
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