After playing Orlando City B to a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes, Atlanta United 2 gained a point on the road before losing 5-3 on penalties. Karim Tmimi scored his fourth goal of the year, while Nick Firmino scored his first.
Alan Carleton, an academy product, assisted on both goals for Atlanta, marking the team’s first multi-assist performance of the year. Orlando scored the game’s first goal in the eleventh minute of play. Josh Cohen raced to retrieve a ball that Jhon Solis floated over the Atlanta defense to the right of the 18, but Alexander Freeman slid a pass to Wilfred Rivera in the middle of the box before Cohen could get there.
In the 27th minute, Shakur Mohammed received a pass just beyond the six-yard box, and the home team attempted to double the lead. Mohammed finished a shot that appeared to get past Atlanta’s defenders, but Matt Edwards, a homegrown defender, recovered to make a last-second slide tackle that deflected the ball away from goal. Halfway through the half, ATL UTD 2 settled in and started to create opportunities.
Noble Okello engaged in a ball battle outside the opposition box in the 29th minute. He managed to win a tackle and then attempt a 20-yard shot, but the keeper read it. In the 37th minute of the game, defender Ethan Dudley connected on a header at the back post to give Atlanta its last opportunity, but his shot fell just short.
Until the 70th minute, when Carleton sent a cross from the right wing to Firmino, who headed it in at the back post to tie the score at one, neither team had a serious opportunity. In the 88th minute, Tmimi gave ATL UTD 2 the lead after Carleton initiated a counterattack.
Tmimi received a pass at the top of the box and nutmegged his defender and goalie to take a 2-1 lead. In the 95th minute, Favian Loyola dribbled past Okello outside the box, took a shot just beyond the 18, and slid the ball just past Cohen’s reach into the bottom right corner of the goal to tie the score.
After ninety minutes, with the score tied at two goals apiece, the two teams advanced to a penalty shootout where an additional point in the standings was at stake. After trading successful conversions from the spot, Carleton’s attempt was saved after it had traveled to the lower right corner. On Sunday, June 30, Atlanta United 2 (3-6-3, 13 points) travels down South to play Inter Miami CF II at Chase Stadium (6:00 p.m. ET, Apple TV – MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here), capping up its Florida leg of a three-match road trip. If you have an MLS Season Pass membership, you can watch some ATL UTD 2 matches via the Apple TV app.
