No Way To Hide Atlanta United FC Futility In Houston Opener
By W. M. Lawson
Atlanta United FC opened the season in Houston Saturday. It was one of those games where nothing looked or felt right.
We, and I mean the royal we, have spent some time here reassuring that the feeble preseason Atlanta United FC exhibited was nothing to worry about. That feeling and prognostication still stand. From here, anyway. That said, there is no way to hide or dismiss the display they put on Saturday.
I love ‘The 5 Stripes” as much as anyone. Possibly. Love how they’ve sparked the city. Love that a cross-section of fans have found common ground. I love that they win.
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But when things get catawampus, you have to call it the way it is. The way it was Saturday, though, it was that ATL UTD was awful.
You don’t have to go further than the (4-0) score. That says enough. But it wasn’t even like United were unlucky. They were just bad.
The back-end Defense was atrocious. Passing was nonexistent and/or off the mark, and Almirón inexplicably missed two shots inside 10 meters. One was a PK.
That’s why this match was an odious outlier. Not a marker for the future. At the least, Almirón starts making easy shots.
But the issues that plagued Atlanta United FC in the preseason persisted in Game One. And that’s not a good thing.
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United FC kick again Sunday, 03/11/2018 against last year’s nemesis Washington DC. A win there would do more than just smooth out the early record.