Atlanta United has zero shots on goal, is shut out in Montreal

MONTREAL - Naked bicyclists rode through downtown Montreal on a warm Saturday afternoon as part of a protest of gas dependence.

Watching Atlanta United lose 1-0 to Montreal later that night was similar to the experience of watching the clothes-less cyclists. There was something missing with the Five Stripes.

Atlanta United (6-11-6) lost its fourth consecutive match across all competitions. It was shut out for the sixth time this season and failed to put a shot on goal for the first time this season. Even before Stian Gregersen was ejected for his second yellow card early in the second half, the Five Stripes were being outshot and hadn’t yet put a shot on goal. That was with 11 players. Reduced to 10, Atlanta United finished with 10 shots and created seven chances, all in the second half, as the front office works to sign two Designated Players to replace striker Giorgos Giakoumakis and attacking midfielder Thiago Almada.

The defeat, combined with other results, saw Atlanta United drop from 10th place to 11th in the East. It will host NYCFC on Wednesday and Columbus on Saturday.

“Everyone is definitely really disappointed, myself included,” centerback Noah Cobb said. “I think it’s really frustrating when, especially in the first half, the game was a bit stale. There honestly wasn’t too much going on from both sides. They had more of the ball but they weren’t doing a whole lot with it. Hand up on the goal for me, I played the bad pass that got intercepted. One lapse in concentration and goal.”

Interim manager Rob Valentino’s formation was composed of Daniel Rios at striker with Saba Lobjanidze, Xande Silva, Tristan Muyumba and Bartosz Slisz in the midfield, Brooks Lennon and Ronald Hernandez, in for Caleb Wiley, as the wingbacks, Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Cobb as centerbacks, and Brad Guzan in goal. It was the strongest lineup Valentino could field. The MLS transfer window opens Thursday.

Valentino spoke on Thursday about the need for the team stay compact defensively.

Atlanta United did that through the first half. Though Montreal took nine shots, just three were on goal and Guzan saved each.

Offensively, Atlanta United’s recent habit of slow first halves continued. It didn’t attempt a shot until Hernandez tried an overhead effort that didn’t reach the goal around the 36th minute. Atlanta United didn’t create a scoring chance in the first half.

“It’s a tough moment,” Valentino said. “In the first half we knew we would probably have to defend a lot and I think I touched on that earlier in the week about how we would defend and be little more solid. It was not pretty by any means, but I told them it’s going to be like this. Going away from home is like that with most teams around the league but if you are solid defensively you eventually can make them frustrated and create chances that way and that’s what I’ve been trying to add.”

Atlanta United fell behind 1-0 in the 51st header on a back-post header by Ruan, who wasn’t marked closely enough by Hernandez. There wasn’t an Atlanta United player withing five yards of Raheem Edwards on the cross, either.

“It comes from a giveaway from our own mistake as we’re on the counter,” Valentino said. “At that point you just have to put out fires, especially in transition moments. You have two players there and one of theirs and we didn’t deal with it. Whether it’s naive or just that, what we talked about before the game, concentration and execution, that’s a moment where there was a lack of concentration and execution.”

Things got worse for Atlanta United four minutes later when Gregersen received his second yellow card for what appeared to be a shoulder-to-shoulder tackle and was ejected, reducing Atlanta United to 10 men for the remainder of the game. Gregersen will subsequently miss the next match. Both yellow cards given by referee Ted Unkel were “soft” calls. Gregersen’s first yellow was received in the 38th minute for an attempted tackle near the top of the 18-yard box.

Jamal Thiare and Jay Fortune subbed on for Rios and Silva in the 71st minute. Dax McCarty replaced Muyumba in the 78th minute.

Guzan made three difficult saves to give Atlanta United time to try to find a tying goal.

“I didn’t want to just try and sit and defend and that’s not what I’m asking them to do, sit and defend, but how can we be more aggressive and compact together,” Valentino said. “That changed and that’s frustrating because it would have been nice to see if we could have grabbed something there when it was 11 vs. 11.”

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup