Atlanta United FC: Big Stretch Heading Into the Midway Point of Season
By W. M. Lawson
Atlanta United FC will host visiting Columbus Saturday night, June 17th. It will be the 3rd game of a brutal 8 game stretch. This match matters much.
Our beloved Atlanta United FC hosts Columbus Crew SC tomorrow night and this match has huge implications. United FC currently sits 8th out of 11 teams in their conference, and that squares them two spots out of playoff contention. One might surmise that, upon looking at the schedule and standings, that this match might not matter that much. That person would be wrong.
The first thing of note is that Columbus, although they sport a losing record (7-8-1), is actually playoff eligible coming into this game. ATL UTD comes into Saturday’s match with a record of (5-6-3). The inconsistency you might’ve noticed is that United has played two fewer matches than the Crew.
Columbus has a total of 22 points to Atlanta’s 18. Basic soccer math will show that a victory by The 5 Stripes would put them 1 point behind Columbus Crew SC with an extra game to be played. The opportunity to take the lead in the future is there.
Another reason why this Saturday’s match is important is that it is the 3rd game of an 8 game stretch that spans 25 days. 8 games in 25 days. That’s just brutal. Any time a team goes through that kind of car wash, it is imperative that it takes advantage of being home. Add to that ATL UTD has played 9 games on the road (2-4-3) to 5 games at home (3-2) this season, and it becomes obvious just how important home matches truly are moving forward.
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But that is true of any and all sports. I reference it here in this article about the Atlanta Braves. If a team hopes to make the playoffs, it has to win at home. Plain and simple. Regardless of what level. You have to win home games to be a winning team.
Saturday, Atlanta United FC has a chance to win and take three points. They have a chance to take those three points from a team ahead of them in playoff standings. United can do that in front of a sold out crowd that has only seen them live less than half the schedule played, thus far.
There are 34 games in an MLS season. We are nearing the halfway point. A win Saturday in Atlanta will firmly place this first year franchise in the playoff mix. Time to #UniteANDConquer.