A pair of Eastern Conference teams on the opposite ends of the league table will square off Saturday night when Atlanta United host the Philadelphia Union.
Philadelphia (8-3-2, 26 points) has gone 4-0-1 in its last five games and hasn’t lost since a 1-0 setback at New York City FC on April 12. The Union’s 26 points have the club tied with the Columbus Crew for second place in the Eastern Conference, only behind FC Cincinnati’s 28. In Philadelphia’s stellar season, the team has recorded 26 goals — trailing only San Jose’s 29 for most in MLS.
A successful campaign under first-year coach Bradley Carnell continued on Wednesday, as Philadelphia rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the winless LA Galaxy, eventually coming back to take a 3-2 victory on Tai Baribo’s game-winning goal in the sixth minute of extra time.
“There was a switch and an internal belief that we found in the locker room and within the huddle when we were down,” Carnell said of the comeback. “We were relentless in the second half and that’s what we set out to do originally, and we showed we can do it.”
The rally began with Nathan Harriel’s goal and Baribo’s first of the match — both coming in a two-minute span at the beginning of the second half. With Baribo’s two goals, the second-year Philadelphia forward now leads the league with 10 goals on the season.
Atlanta (2-6-5, 11 points), which fell at Philadelphia 3-0 on April 19, is searching for its first victory since March 29, when it beat NYC FC 4-3. Since then, Atlanta has gone 0-4-3 but has picked up a point in two of its last three matches, including a 1-1 draw against Austin FC on Wednesday.
Desperately searching for an equalizer in extra time, Atlanta’s Jamal Thiare scored his first goal of the season to help the club avoid a fifth loss in six tries.
“We had a totally different discipline and attitude in what we were doing,” Atlanta coach Ronny Deila said. “In the circumstances we are in, I’m very happy with this result.”
Emmanuel Latte Lath leads Atlanta with five goals, followed by Miguel Almiron’s three.
–Field Level Media
