Spurred on by a sensational rebound goal by last year's MLS MVP Josef Martinez, Atlanta United eliminated Herediano Thursday in the first round of CONCACAF Champions League at Fifth-Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw.
With the win, Atlanta United plays Monterrey in the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday. The return leg will be in Atlanta on either March 12th, 13th or 14th.
After dropping going down 3-1 in Leg 1, United Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra told Jon Chuckery and Hugh Douglas he was feeling much better now that the club has a win under their belts.
Given they could only do so much before jumping right into playoff-time atmosphere last week, he felt they had the right frame of mind going into last night's game.
“I don’t know if they played tight. We gave away a bad goal early (in Leg 1 in Costa Rica). They had the right mentality, and to be honest, we had a three-or-four guys who didn’t have their best night.”
He credited MLS MVP Josef Martinez with giving the team “a dream start.” Knowing they might have to take some risks after giving up the first game, Bocanegra felt like Martinez’s goal set the tone for the rest of the night.
With their MLS season opener on Sunday and the short turnaround after Thursday night, Bocanegra was asked how much thought would go into deciding lineups and minutes in Washington.
"Frank (new United manager de Boer) in the end will pick the team, but it's very much a group discussion, taking various factors into account. Most guys will be playing three games in seven days, but we have depth. We've built depth for it. That was always the plan. We want to win every game, but also we don’t want our guys to be injured in the first week of the season. Frank will have a lot of guys to select from over the weekend."
