Saturday's matchup against CF Montreal started about as good as it could for Atlanta. It quickly turned to a nightmare scenario that took major resolve on the teams part to fight back and get a tie at the end.
Scoring the opening goal at just the sixth minute mark was Josef Matrinez, his second straight match with a goal. United took an early 1-0 lead in the first half. Then came the collapse.
Defensive collapses gave the Montreal club multiple opportunities at the net and they did not waste them. CF Montreal scored three unanswered goals in the span of 14 minutes and ended the first half with a 3-1 lead over the stunned United team
The second half got worse before it got better. The mountain United had to climb got taller when Dom Dwyer received a red card in the 67th minute. Now down a man and two goals United looked dead in the water.
Enter Thiago Almada and Brooks Lennon. Almada, who was making his debut with the club scored, on this goal in the 85th minute to make it a 3-2 match.
After regulation, United had just six minutes of stoppage time to tie or win it. In the second minute CF Montreal's Rudy Camacho was assessed a yellow card giving United a chance at a free kick. Brooks Lennon buried a right footed shot to the top left corner and tied the match at 3-3.
While not the win United wanted, showing that type of resiliency to manage a tie in a game that seemed out of reach late in the second half has to feel like a positive for a team that is now 3-1 on the season. Atlanta United also remains undefeated at home.
United will look to get back in the win column and Josef Martinez will look to keep his goal streak alive against D.C. United on April 2nd.
