Gonzalo Pineda ‘inspired’ by Atlanta United performance against Columbus Crew

They may have only left with a single point, but Atlanta United’s performance away at the Columbus Crew was enough to ‘inspire’ head coach Gonzalo Pineda and offer hope for the rest of the season.

Atlanta went into the match at Lower.com Field on a poor run of just one win in their last six matches, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference and looking from the outside in at the MLS Cup Playoffs race.

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But the Five Stripes put in a spirited performance away at the Crew – even taking the lead in the 21st minute through Santiago Sosa’s rocket of a strike. Columbus fought back with two goals in six second-half minutes, but center-back Juan Jose Purata equalized late on.

Despite sharing the spoils, Atlanta controlled 52% possession and attempted 24 shots compared to Columbus’ 12, while their 2.04xG far outstripped that of their hosts (0.73). Sunday’s performance has to rank among the best in what has been a miserable season for Atlanta United.

“It was inspiring the way the team played. Soccer wise, but also on the mental side I thought that they showed a lot of passion, they showed a lot of good attitude, energy, intensity against a very good team,” Pineda said after the match. “They are a very good team, very good coach, and today I felt we were superior to a very good team, which is encouraging.”

Atlanta United remain five points adrift of the Playoffs line but with eight regular-season games remaining, there are plenty of points still to play for.

“The message is let’s continue with these types of performances and I think after these eight games we’re going to get the reward,” Pineda added.

Of course, it could have been even better for the Five Stripes with Sosa appearing to complete his brace to put Atlanta United 2-0 just 17 minutes after his opener. The Argentine midfielder climbed highest to head home a corner but referee Joe Dickerson ruled out the goal, seemingly for a push although the decision was soft to say the least.

Pineda was extremely guarded when talking about the incident after the match, but still made his feelings very clear in a more indirect way.

“By the rules of the league, I can’t speak about the guys making the calls and fouls. I don’t think I can even say the name of their profession,” said Pineda. “But you guys write about it, I mean you guys watch the film and please write about it, analyze it the same way you analyze coaches, players, and dissect every play. Analyze and criticize some of these guys we can’t talk publicly about because our hands are tied and it’s frustrating.

“But the first thing that comes to mind is the goal they scored at home, on a set piece, minimum contacts and it’s the same play. But as I said a few games ago, referees are always right and we coaches are always wrong.”

Nevertheless, Atlanta will take the point back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they’ll host bottom-of-the-East DC United on Sunday.

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