Fight, luck and belief carried Atlanta United into MLS playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brad Guzan, covered in the grass-stain badges of victory, came roaring up the tunnel.

“Get in,” he shouted. “Get in.”

Interim manager Rob Valentino followed a few minutes later, slamming his notebook against a concrete wall several times as he skipped up the concourse before giving everyone he came across hugs while shouting, “No one believed we could do it.”

Atlanta United did it, and so did Cincinnati and Charlotte. Atlanta United defeated Orlando 2-1 on Saturday, and were fortunate that a minimum of two out of three other results in other matches it needed — Charlotte beat D.C. United and Cincinnati defeated Philadelphia while Montreal defeated NYCFC — went its way to secure a berth in the wildcard round of the MLS playoffs. Atlanta United will play at Montreal on Tuesday. The winner will advance to a best-of-three series that will start at Lionel Messi’s Miami on Friday.

“I told (the players) in there, and Brad (Guzan) echoed it before I even did, now you’ve got yourself in, now you have to go prove yourself again Tuesday night in Montréal, and that’s where the next focus has to go,” Valentino said. “It’s short-lived for sure but I always take the joy out of things, and I want to make sure I don’t forget this moment because for the people I do it with and the players, it was sweet.”

It was a night and a result of hard work, some luck, and some premonitions.

The hard work: Guzan made nine saves. Saba Lobjanidze and Jamal Thiare scored to give Atlanta United a 2-0 lead in the first 16 minutes, making it that much easier on a defense that didn’t get that situation many times this season.

“They always say in football that’s a tricky one where the other team gets one and then they get the momentum and sometimes you score or end up losing the game,” centerback Derrick Williams said. “To hold out with a 2-1 win, especially on the road against Orlando. It’s a great day, all the odds against us, and to beat our rivals. I’m just happy for our fans as well.”

Valentino got all of the subs right in the second half, bringing on Dax McCarty for his 489th and final regular season appearance, Tristan Muyumba, Ronald Hernandez, Luis Abram and Daniel Rios, as the team held on to thwart Orlando, which finished with 21 shots and pumped in 18 crosses.

For the luck: One prominent Atlanta United employee wore Adidas sneakers that were as white and bright as the moon earlier this week. Another employee shaved off most of his hair. Anything for good luck. One of those things will be a choice on Tuesday. Don’t be surprised if that choice is made.

Those were just the superficial things.

Atlanta United finally got some luck in a match.

One Orlando goal scored in the 89th minute was called back because after a review it was deemed the ball touched Duncan McGuire’s arm before he shot.

The play was similar to Thiare’s goal in the first half because, like McGuire’s goal-then-no-goal, it came from a ball bouncing around off players in the 18-yard box. The corner kick that Thiare scored from could have easily hit an arm. It didn’t.

Such are the small differences between game-changing goals and season-ending losses. Such are the small differences that have gone against Atlanta United most of this season.

“When they did say they’re looking at it, these guys said that it looked like it was handball,” Valentino said. “I thought it would come back. I was still pretty angry. Because, yeah, at the end, there’s no time left to do anything, really. I still wasn’t happy when it got reversed, it was just about like just sticking together and just fighting them through it.”

The premonitions: Williams said he thought the results would go Atlanta United’s way, but he thought that Montreal would lose to NYCFC (Montreal won) and that Charlotte would defeat D.C. United, with Philadelphia’s match “up in the air.”

Now, that Atlanta United is in, Williams has another belief.

“I have a feeling that we could go far in this,” he said. “So just exciting, just getting ready to make sure we get rested and recovered for Tuesday.”

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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