Whatever superstition/voodoo/chants/dance she did to remove bad luck from the shoulders of Atlanta United was mostly successful and should be commended. It would have been nice if someone did the “No More Injuries Please” dance. before Miles Robinson has become the latest victim, but an emotional roller coaster appears to have been the mantra for The Five Stripes this year. Let’s be positive for a moment, and remember (I think) that the last time Atlanta United scored a hat-trick, he then went on to win the MLS Cup. Ronaldo Cisneros immediately established his place in the history of this team and at the same time catapulted himself to the leading scorer position by scoring the same number of goals in 36 minutes than the whole team achieved in the whole month of April (discounted US Open Cup).
This is cause for celebration in and of itself, and while there will always be an argument about how to do it Chicago fire They are a mediocre squad at this point, 24 hours ago everyone was expecting this match to end with a very low record. Perhaps this is the moment fans can remember and gleefully talk about when the registration doors finally opened? Could Cisneros put his weight in any further talks about including another striker by becoming a permanent part of Atlanta United? Either way, what a moment for the real Ronaldo to not only finish a lovely hat-trick but do so with his dad in town. Even better was the fact that Pineda told Cisneros’ father the day before the match that his presence might bring the young striker a hat-trick.
As for Miles Robinson, it will likely be Monday or Tuesday before fans hear anything specific. This, and the topic of playing on the lawn, were huge topics in our post-game Twitter spaces at DSS. Pineda and the players were also asked about it, and you can read it in the quotes below, but even Pineda mentioned that the prognosis was not good. It’s very unfortunate for a player on the cusp of the World Cup, not to mention what it means for Atlanta United and their fans. It will be the subject of many articles and conversations throughout the week, but for now we all wish Miles all the best and pray for the best.
One last note before quotes. For weeks, I felt Pineda was just a small adjustment away from revealing this team’s attack, but no one was able to put their finger on it. It just felt like something completely intangible since Atlanta United were doing everything right. The correct answer was revealed here moments after the match began: Gonzalo Pineda took off his shirt. Throw it in the superstition category if you like, there are upside-down baseball caps, but the Five Lines has never lost a game with the unbuttoned Pineda jersey. Material for reflection, but in the meantime check what Pineda, Cisneros, Lennon and Ibarra had to say after that 4-1 victory over Chicago.
On any injury update for Miles Robinson and Caleb Wiley and if he has any concerns about the number of injuries he’s had
“So no, no. On both questions, dates. Miles Robinson doesn’t look good, but then again, we’ll have to wait for the test and the MRI and see if we can confirm something on this end – Caleb Wiley sprained his ankle when they stepped on him, I didn’t see the replay, but he said they kicked him in that play and twisted his ankle. As he could see and then get out. So, I apologized to Caleb, but it was painful to see him limp on the field. So, I usually don’t, but, uh, that was for a reason. What. On the grass, no, I’m not an expert. I don’t know if grass can cause injuries or not, I’m not the expert. Maybe you should ask some experts in this regard.”
And the sports science coaching staff, don’t you worry about anything they do or don’t do?
“No, we have a very good Mathematical Sciences department. We measure everything. We think about everything we do. I think they are doing very well – their level is very high and obviously we will check again, but I don’t think there is anything particularly different. What we are doing compared to last year or even years before it is very similar. So obviously we will check anything, but I don’t think that is the case.”
And you said the MRI to Robinson, is that his Achilles tendon or his knee? Achilles tendon?
“yes.”
On the offensive play tonight
“I’m going to ask you to come back. Like, do you think it was so different from the last few games?”
I do. Yeah. I think there was a lot less dribbling, a lot of passing and movement, a lot of running in space behind the lines.
“Yeah. I think the game turned out like that, but I don’t think there’s been a lot of dribbling in the last few games. I think it was more of a lack of clinical precision in the finishing touches because I think there are games like Cincinnati, we’re creating more Chances on goal – similarities, one to other games in terms of expected goals, possessions, last third entries, through balls., crosses, chances, shots – like stats because it was a very similar match to the last few game, just today, we had a fortune to score The goals and to be clinical but I don’t think there was anything particularly different from what we try every weekend.”
On the team that responds after Miles’ injury
“Yeah, I’m proud of that response. We talk about it in the first half. Everyone obviously went to see Miles in the first half and were clearly sad about him. So what we said in the locker room was the best way to honor him and honor all the players who have fallen so far. This season because of long-term injuries is to play at our level. That’s the best way to honor them. And I think they did. They came back – they consolidated the result and I think they did a good job at that.
On the midfield duo between Rossetto and Ibarra tonight
“Yeah, I think I have very good midfielders. I think in general I have a strong group of midfielders. Today, the duo that works the same way last weekend against Montreal did a very good job. They strengthened the midfield defensively first. I think they did a good job in The other day against the back today. And my shukiri – they also assure us the march. They were the ones who were dropping the chance in the three line of defense. Sometimes you would receive the ball behind Shaqiri and their number 9 and they start to break the lines. I think the balance of attack and defense they can give the team is good for any A team that wants to be good in possession. They did a very good job, but at the same time when Santi (Sosa) came in, he did the same – Emerson (Hyndman), I think he did a very good job, maybe even higher on the field. And we know that when Amar (Sajdik) played, he performed very similarly. Tyler Wolfe can play in that position as well. I think I’m blessed with a lot of good midfielders. Any pair we put on, we feel they can do very well, but obviously this pair He provides a strong midfield at the moment.
He had ever had an injury case like this before in his career
“Yeah, well, I’ve never seen anything this bad before. I would say in terms of injuries, I’ve been through a few years – whether I’m a player or I’ve been a coach in Seattle where we’ve had long-term injuries as well, but nothing like that, especially in The top 10 matches of the season.We obviously checked everything, we checked everything. We were checking anything, we didn’t find anything different. We always check and compare day in and day out, that’s our routine, but they also went a little longer and checked Of everything. There is nothing in there. I mean, sometimes you have bad luck and we just have to try to find a solution, but at the same time, I think it’s bad luck.
About scoring a hat-trick tonight
“I feel very happy, especially with the victory of the team. Obviously, the three goals make me happy. We have come from three previous games without a victory, so the most important thing for me today is the win and the three points.”
On his plans when his loan contract expires
“Obviously I want to stay, from the first moment I was asked if I wanted to attend, I answered yes. My intention is to stay for a long time. I know it does not depend on me, but what depends on me, I will do what is possible to stay longer” .
On feeling more comfortable in the team after tonight’s performance
“Yes, the first few matches cost me more physically, but with each passing match I feel better. I hope the results continue on the field.”
On team chemistry tonight
“I think the team has been playing well in the last games. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the accuracy that we had today. It was something we were looking for in the last few games where we couldn’t win and today we were able to finish it.”
On how MLS, Liga MX and the CONCACAF winning MLS team compare Champions League
“I think both tournaments are very competitive. Since I arrived I have realized that there is a lot of competition within the team and all the matches were tough. Today we were superior but Chicago is a great team too but I think as you say now MLS won the CONCACAF Champions League and football in the USA has grown a lot and has a future very good “.
About the team that got another injury tonight
“It’s a very sad thing, we don’t know what’s going on. I’m sad to see a team that has been working so hard all week to come in and play and suffer a serious injury like the one we had.”
Communicating with the team
“Yes, when you have injuries like the ones we have, it’s only natural for us to get close to each other. I will try to trust all the veterans to make the journey we are taking with all these injuries and just trust that they will bring us home.”
The need to replace him out of the match:
“Yeah, I got scared at first because I could feel something in my feet, but I’m fine. It was just scary.
On the team’s work team, especially in the midfield
“Yeah, I just asked Matthews (Russetto) to play a liberation – more on the ball. I like to highlight the best players on the other team. I tell Matthews to turn the ball – if I have to do it I’m more than capable, but I tell him He runs the ball and likes to do the dirty work in midfield.”
On Miles Robinson’s injury
“Really sad. He’s one of my best friends. Just heartbreaking. In the first half we were really shocked as a team. It took us 15-20 minutes to regroup, I don’t know if you can tell if we can see if he drops, we lost Ball possession. I think we were all stunned. We are praying for him and wishing him a speedy recovery. Just another hit to the team, which isn’t a big deal for us. But like we said and like we’ve said all along, we have guys that are going to need to step things up and I thought Al [Alex De John] He came in and played really well.”
On the team that regrouped after Robinson’s injury
“I think once we got into the first half and Gonzalo [Pineda] He addressed the situation and said, “Look, that’s for Miles. We have to play for Miles and for all the other guys that have fallen.” It is a matter of pride now, to go ahead and score goals for them. So we’re really glad we did, we scored four goals tonight. We struggled to put the ball in the back of the net and it’s not easy to score four goals in one game in MLS. A good result overall and we’ll move on to Wednesday.”
About what was different with the team’s attack
“I think the ball bounced our way a few times there and in other matches, I don’t think it did. Ronaldo [Cisneros] He easily scored his second goal. He just had a good score and that’s football sometimes. The ball will either fall on you or against you and I think it has been falling on us lately. I’m glad tonight that it fell on us.”
On whether Ronaldo Cisneros was the striker the team was looking for
“I don’t know if we’re really looking for strikers. We have a lot of talent inside this locker room with Joseph [Martinez]It is clearly not available now. Ronaldo [Cisneros] I stepped in and made a name for himself. Scoring three goals in the first half is really good. We are so proud of him and so happy for him that he managed to get his first hat-trick in MLS. Hopefully he continues to put the ball in the net for us.”
And finally, here are the links to go check out the post-match conversation on Twitter.
