Union stay undefeated with comeback for 2-2 tie at Atlanta United

The Union are still undefeated in this year’s regular season thanks to a dramatic 2-2 comeback tie at Atlanta United on Sunday afternoon.

All four goals came in the second half: Atlanta’s Daniel Ríos in the 55th and Caleb Wiley in the 63rd, then Mikael Uhre in the 73rd and Kai Wagner in the 77th.

The Union (3-0-4, 13 points) also had to deal with Andre Blake suffering another injury, potentially to his groin, just before halftime. Oliver Semmle played the rest of the game.

When Blake saved a low shot from Atlanta (3-2-2, 11 points) star Thiago Almada in the 44th, it looked pretty innocuous. But Blake came up grimacing, went back down, and had to leave in first-half stoppage time of his first game back after a concussion.

It turned out that the play where he hurt himself was a few moments earlier, a long clearance in the 43rd the TV broadcast didn’t show live. Manager Jim Curtin quickly got Oliver Semmle off the bench and ready to go in.

Once the broadcast finally did show the play where Blake was hurt, it looked like a reaggravation of the same old groin injury that has bothered him on and off for years. He was able to walk off under his own power. Luckily for the Union, their bye is next weekend. Their next game is April 27 at home vs. Real Salt Lake.

“It’s unfortunate — he’s had a lot of little unlucky moments this year that have led to little injuries, so hopefully we can get a fixed with a little bit of downtime here,” Curtin said after the game. “We’ll get some tests and probably have a clear answer for you. … Even Andre, when I asked him, he wasn’t sure how bad the extent of it [was] either, he just knew something was not right and he had to come out of the game.”

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The first half wasn’t the most entertaining, but it wasn’t boring either.

Though Atlanta had 64% of the possession and out passed the Union, 213-96, the Union had the shots edge, 8-6, and each team put two on target.

The Union’s best spell came in a sequence across the 31st and 32nd minutes. Julián Carranza and Quinn Sullivan were blocked from close-range, then Wagner crossed to a Bedoya header straight at Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan (though the offside flag was up).

It was no surprise to see referee Jon Freemon call 12 fouls and dish out four yellow cards in the frame. These teams have disliked each other for years, and Freemon wasn’t going to put up with too much roughhousing. José Andrés Martínez got one of the bookings in the 35th, and Freemon was very kind to not give him another when he threw the ball away after a foul in the 39th.

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The Five Stripes were without their top two strikers Sunday, as star Giorgos Giakoumakis and backup Jamal Thiaré were both injured. But the player who stepped in, was no stranger to the Union. Late in the 2022 season, Ríos scored all four goals in a 4-0 Charlotte FC rout that cost the Union the Supporters’ Shield.

This time, Ríos got on the end of an inch-perfect service from Almada and headed it perfectly, low past Semmle to his far corner.

Wiley’s goal was equally unstoppable, but in a different way: a 30-plus-yard screamer that no one saw coming from the left back. For good reason, as it was the 19-year-old left back’s first goal since last July.

Soon after that, Curtin pulled Martínez for Uhre, who didn’t start because he had just finished recovering from plantar fasciitis. Uhre entered on a corner kick play that came inches from producing a goal, but Guzan made a reflex save to keep Carranza’s chance out.

It started with Tristan Muyumba hitting a wildly speculative pass across the field and backward, hoping a teammate would get to it while Wiley was in a traffic jam. Instead, it flew over everyone. Uhre raced down the left wing, settled the ball, and blasted it past Guzan from the top of the 18-yard box.

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Wagner’s equalizer came out of a throw-in play. Harriel launched it, Wiley headed it out, and it went straight to Wagner for a first-time volley — surprisingly with his weaker right foot. It flew right into the net.

Uhre nearly made it 3-2 in the 79th off a classic fast buildup, with Sullivan as the sparkplug. He then passed to Uhre who buried the shot, but the offside flag was up. It was awfully close, but the video review officials confirmed the initial call.

Atlanta nearly had its own winner in the 87th when Saba Lobzhanidze hit the post from an open close-range look. Just over a minute later, the Union had a 5-on-3 break, but Uhre misplayed a pass and the play fizzled out.

Finally, in stoppage time, Semmle stood firm to smother a hard hit from Almada at the top of the 18-yard box.

The total shots ended up 19-13 to Atlanta, and 6-5 to Atlanta in shots on target.