Add a red card on goal keeper Brad Guzan to the list of things can go wrong and did go wrong for Atlanta United Saturday night. Backup goal keeper Josh Cohen came into the match and immediately saw a free kick from LAFC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz fly his out-stretched hand and into the next to give the visiting team a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute.
The teams most recent success in U.S. Open Cup play, including that of Cohen during the penalty kick stage of the victory over Charleston earlier this week, could not hide the fact that something has bitten this team and won’t let go.
Substitutions like Derrick Williams and Edwin Mosquera in the 72nd minute brought fresh legs onto the pitch for Atlanta, but little else. Even eight minutes of stoppage time wouldn’t be enough to stop the winless streak.
In the 98th minute of play there were a few desperate attempts at tying the match, including a shot from Tristan Muyumba that but barely missed, but it felt like Atlanta was perpetually playing from behind.
Atlanta will close out the month of March with a match in Miami against arguably Major League Soccer’s best side, Inter Miami, who were in second place in the Eastern Conference going into Saturday’s run of play.
The good news, if there is any good news to be had at the moment, is that Atlanta will host the first two matches in June against Charlotte FC and the Houston Dynamo on June 2 and June 15. Both are in seventh place in their respective conferences and should be winnable matches for Atlanta (3-4-7 overall) at home.