Maddie's Version: This One Hurts
- Madison Crews
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A 3-2 loss to Philadelphia, and it hurts a lot more because of everything that happened around it.
Everything changes the moment Enea Mihaj gets that red card. I already ranted about it on the Full Time Report, so go listen to that one if you haven't had the chance. It was a call that felt spur of the moment to me, and it completely changed the game. You never want a referee decision to be the thing that changes a match, and this one did.
Credit where it's due though. Atlanta reorganized quickly going into halftime and found a way to adjust, because everything is different once you're down to ten men. From there, Atlanta was holding on really nicely. The chances Philadelphia were generating got handled well for a long stretch, and Lucas Hoyos came up with a lot of great saves in this one.
The moment that turned it, for me, was when Alexey Miranchuk came off. That's when Kai Wagner started finding a lot more room, and he's someone who has been a threat going back to his time in the Philly kit. Now he's back in it, in his third appearance, and he had a hand in all three goals. Atlanta just could not hold on.
This is a team with a lot of pieces still moving in and out right now. We got the news today that Emmanuel Latte Lath is being loaned out, and that opens up a Designated Player slot. Chris Henderson and Jonathan Spector have been open with Mike and Jason about the fact that changes are coming. Right now, this is just where Atlanta is. Bringing in pieces to make this team better, especially now that the season has hit its halfway point.
The one real bright spot was Arif Kovac. He got his MLS debut and made the most of it, well deserved after leading MLS Next Pro in goals right now. He's been outstanding for the 2’s, and this was a great moment for him.
Atlanta deserves credit for how it battled down a man. That part was real. But you don't get to keep the credit and lose the game too. A 2-0 lead should not slip away like that, not against this opponent, not at this point in the season. That's the part that has to change.
(𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓮'𝓼 𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷)