ATLANTA — Gonzalo “Pity” Martínez returned to Atlanta United’s starting lineup Thursday night, and the Argentine showed once again that he is a big-game player. Atlanta United defeated the Philadelphia Union 2-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Eastern Conference semifinals. El Pity provided the game-winning assist.
After sitting for Atlanta’s win over the New England Revolution in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, Martínez lined up as a No. 10 in Atlanta’s 4-2-3-1, Atlanta’s first time in a back-four from the outset in months.
Martínez rewarded manager Frank de Boer’s faith inside 10 minutes. Martínez and Julian Gressel connected on a slick one-two through traffic, with Martínez placing the perfect pass and Gressel finishing with a well-executed chip over the onrushing Andre Blake.
“I was screaming at him to just kind of lay it in there because I saw it developing that way,” Gressel said after the game. “That was a great pass. He just instinctively thought that I was going to run on like that, and I was able to do that, and then I saw the keeper come out and just figured to chip it over, and the ball felt like it was in the air for about two minutes, and then it got that little kiss off the crossbar and then it went in. It was a great feeling.”
El Pity created four chances, tied for a game high. Beyond the attacking highlights, it was the little things that made for a man-of-the-match performance. He completed seven of nine dribbles and drew five fouls, also a game high. Martínez did not try to force the issue in midfield with dangerous passes, instead playing simple balls to nearby teammates. When Atlanta was out of possession, Martínez was willing to track back and defend, which has not always been the case in 2019.
De Boer’s lineup included some key changes from the Atlanta United squad that beat the Revs to open playoffs, aside from the formation shift. Miles Robinson is still out with a hamstring injury, and now Michael Parkhurst is recovering from a dislocated shoulder. Martínez replaced Emerson Hyndman in the XI, and Florentin Pogba featured in place of Parkhurst. Mikey Ambrose, making his first start since July 7, took over for Justin Meram.
With a move away from the 3-5-2 formation, de Boer said he needed a true defender to play left fullback. Starting Meram, a natural winger, in that position would have been “suicide,” according to the manager.
“That’s always the message that I give to our players. Your time can suddenly come,” de Boer said afterward. “If you show me in training that you gave your best, and also in your quality, then for me it’s a possibility that I can put you in. He gave me that opportunity.”
After scoring the early winner, Gressel connected on a long ball to Josef Martínez to seal the result. Josef Martínez stretched past center backs Mark McKenzie and Jack Elliott and hammered a shot past Blake in the 80th minute. Atlanta’s goleador was quiet for most of the night, but he made his mark on the game with one thunderous hit.
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“I can’t be happy when I miss three goals,” Josef Martínez said. “I missed the easiest chances and the difficult ones I’m able to score, but I’m happy with the victory. The team suffered and played very well — better than the last game. We have to be happy now because we’ve got another final at home. The next game I hope to not miss as many.”
Leandro González-Pírez, Jeff Larentowicz and Josef Martínez entered Thursday’s game on yellow cards and in danger of suspensions for accumulation. All three stayed out of referee Ismail Elfath’s book.
“I had a little conversation with the referee before the game, which you need to do sometimes,” Larentowicz told reporters in the locker room. “We spoke about Leandro as well, so it’s nice to get through safe.”
The Five Stripes won with their second consecutive playoff clean sheet. They now have two of the three clean sheets recorded over 10 games in this Major League Soccer postseason.
Atlanta was in control for most of the second half, but Philadelphia had its moments early. Immediately after Gressel’s goal, the Five Stripes were forced to defend in their own penalty area. And in the 16th minute, only sharp reflexes from Brad Guzan kept Philadelphia scoreless. A Jamiro Monteiro through ball in the left channel carved Atlanta open, and Pedro Santos crossed to Brenden Aaronson streaking into the area. Guzan extended his right leg to stop Aaronson’s point-blank effort.
“The first half I think we were sometimes a little bit sloppy in the passing from behind, and they also pressed us a little bit more,” de Boer said. “After 60 minutes [the Union were] going to feel that. We had our patience and pushed them up, and then when you lose the ball you have like six, seven or eight guys behind the ball, and every time we got the ball back, we could start an attack again, especially the second half. I’m really pleased with the performance, especially defensively, how we did that for 93 minutes.”
Atlanta will host Toronto FC, which upset Eastern Conference No. 1 seed New York City FC, in the Eastern Conference final. The Five Stripes and Reds meet Wednesday, Oct. 30, with an appearance in the MLS Cup final on the line.
“It’s 90 minutes, do or die, we’re at home,” Larentowicz said. “The mentality hat we have, I think it carried us through the end of the season last year, and we’re starting to get that feeling again, getting that taste.”