Atlanta United (6-5-4) will return to Mercedes Benz Stadium on Wednesday when they host the New England Revolution (7-4-3) on the heels of yet another disappointing result verse a team that they expected to defeat.
Atlanta United played the Orlando City SC (5-5-4) to a 1-1 draw Saturday night at Exploria Stadium, continuing a trend of allowing teams that are well beneath the Five Stripes in the MLS standings to salvage a point in matches most expect the Five Stripes to pull out victories.
Last week in Chicago the same result happened at Soldier Field when the Five Stripes allowed a Chicago Fire FC team that currently sits in 12th place in the Eastern Conference come from behind and notch a 3-3 draw.
Combine that result with a 2-1 loss to last place Inter Miami back on May 6, and the Five Stripes are leaving valuable points on the table and chances to improve their playoff position.
According to Atlanta United color analyst Jason Longshore, and fortunately for Manager Gonzalo Pineda it seems his squad does have the ability to not allow these losses and draws affect their overall team psyche.
“This team hasn’t really seemed to be affected by the defensive issues from a negative standout” explained Jason to Caleb Johnson when he joined him on The Dopey Millennial Show this past Saturday.
Jason continued by saying, “This is a team that’s averaging two goals per game, best in MLS”, but when it comes to stopping goals the Five Stripes have struggled.
“The team isn’t shaken up by it, but it’s frustrating” emphasized Jason to Caleb when discussing how the Five Stripes have shown a tendency to allow teams back into matches that they have the lead late into the time clock.
How will the Five Stripes fix their defensive woes and turn some of these draws into victories?
Well Jason told Caleb that it’s a lot easier said than done.
“It’s not an easy answer. I don’t think it’s a formation change.”
To hear the entire conversation between Jason and Caleb, download the link above
