Atlanta United 2 reacts to Louisville loss, prepares for Detroit City: ‘These are the challenges I crave’

By: Holland Mowry

May 06, 2022

Kennesaw, GA – In lackluster fashion, Atlanta United 2 fell 4-0 to no.1 Louisville City FC on Wednesday night. The second time the teams have met this season, Atlanta conceded only one goal when the clubs first met earlier this March. This time around, they gave up four – an outcome Atlanta had in their peripheral view before kickoff. 

“Look, we knew what we’re up against.” Atlanta head coach Jack Collison said after the game. “There’s no hiding behind the fact that some of the kids probably aren’t ready to play at [Louisville’s] level. But it’s where we are currently, and we believe in these kids.”

A much newer team, Collison’s squad knows that an opportunity to play on Atlanta United’s first team is constantly on the horizon. It’s not unusual for the developmental program to face fierce, tenured opponents like Louisville, and with changing lineups and younger players, it doesn’t make Atlanta’s competition any easier.

“We’re not stupid or naïve.” Collison said. “We understand we are here to support the first team, although it’s difficult standing out there and receiving a bit of a thumping off of a very good team like tonight’s.” He continued, “Long term, our goals are to get players in the first team, to try and build a team that can actually compete at this level, and obviously to support the first team as best we can.”

Louisville came to Atlanta undefeated and left with their tenth victory of the season. Led by head coach Danny Cruz, the team is ranked first in the USL Championship league; their win over Atlanta makes seven clean sheets over their regular season, the USL’s best. However, despite disparities in statistics and records, Atlanta has not lost sight of their most immediate goal – to win. 

“We obviously knew that they were one of the best teams in the league,” midfielder Erik Centeno said after the match. “But we have nothing to lose. We came out here with everything we had. Even though they kept scoring on us, we kept going.”

Midfielder Nick Firmino added, “The goal is to win, obviously. The mindset is always to win. It was unlucky to concede early, and there were sloppy moments, but like I said, the goal is always to win.”

The ever-pressing challenge that stands in the way of those wins is the need to get better, though; against Louisville, Atlanta was bluntly confronted with that reality yet again. Being that they are currently on a four-game losing streak and have only totaled seven goals this season over nine games, Atlanta has found themselves cascading to the bottom of the USL rankings and struggling to get goals off when they need them most. 

“The most disappointing thing for us is not scoring a goal in the last three games.” Collison stated. 

Getting better often happens one step at a time, though, and Atlanta’s match against Louisville offered plenty of insight of what the first stride should be moving forward. With no.2 Detroit City coming up on May 21st, the team has much to prepare for. But Atlanta isn’t ready to shy away from the challenge just yet. 

“I don’t think it can get much more difficult than Detroit away.” Said Collison. “They’re a fantastic team full of quality, but they’re the challenges I certainly crave as a young coach. I hope it’s the sort of challenge the boys in [the locker room] are craving as well.”

Firmino added, “We have a couple days off to reflect, watch film, recover. But really, it’s about how we react. We can either sulk and keep going downhill, or we can bounce back with a great performance.”