ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Five years after their first home match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United FC had a remarkable performance in front of a loud home crowd, scoring four goals in the second half, three of which came from Juanjo Purata, to upset Eastern Conference opponent Toronto FC 4-2.
For this encounter, head coach Gonzalo Pineda made a few changes to the starting lineup. Dom Dwyer started in place of Josef Martnez, who was unavailable. Ronald Hernández, a defender, was named to the starting team at right fullback. It was also Atlanta United’s annual Unite & Conquer Cancer match, which raises awareness for pediatric cancer.
Pediatric cancer patients served as the match’s Golden Spike hitters and honorary captains. Before starting, a group constructed a human gold ribbon, the international symbol for pediatric cancer awareness. During warm-ups, the team wore the MLS Kick Childhood Cancer pre-match tees.
After a scoreless first half, the action picked up in the second 45 minutes. Atlanta United gave the Mercedes-Benz Stadium fans something to cheer about right away. Defender Juanjo Purata scored on a header in the 47th minute from a corner kick from Lennon. Purata scored his fourth goal of the season, all on headers.
In the 74th minute, Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada scored the game-winning goal. The deft midfielder made various moves at the top of the box, outwitting Toronto FC’s defense. He made enough room for himself to hit a bomb, putting Atlanta United up 3-2. Almada’s goal was his fifth of the season.
Atlanta United put the frosting on the cake in the 88th minute with another header from Purata. The goal gave the center back a hat trick on the night and his sixth goal of the season, with all six coming on headers. With six goals, he is the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Purata also becomes the club’s fourth player to score a hat trick. The 5-Stripes will play two games next week against opponents from the Eastern Conference. First, they travel to Exploria Stadium to face Orland SC. The club then travels home to face the Eastern Conference’s leaders, the Philadelphia Union.
