Put on the Bee Gees. Atlanta United are Stayin’ Alive.
With Saturday's tense 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, the Five Stripes will have a chance to qualify for the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs on Decision Day at Orlando City SC (Oct. 19, 6 pm ET | MLS Season Pass)
A 75th-minute penalty from summer Designated Player signing Alexey Miranchuk and a Tyler Wolff marker in the seventh minute of stoppage time claimed the victory for Atlanta, even after the Red Bulls pulled a goal back before the final whistle.
With 37 points, the 2018 MLS Cup champions are tied with the Philadephia Union and have CF Montréal and D.C. United (both 40 points and above the playoff line) within reach. The stakes are palpable.
“I just hope that [the players], as I've told them before, would just focus on us, put the pressure on every other team by winning our game,” interim head coach Rob Valentino said. “I would hope that was what happened, but maybe it was a little bit of what they saw that Toronto lost, and then they felt they got more hope and believed it.
"We can only control what we can, so the next match is Orlando City away, and we need to go and try to win the match... Everyone on Decision Day is going to be trying to win their matches and either finish as high as possible or make the playoffs."
Playoff push amid tough season
Saturday’s result snapped a five-match winless run for Atlanta, with Miranchuk scoring his third goal for the club in what's been a roller-coaster campaign.
While the former Serie A man has taken the reins, he's done it in a season that saw the club transfer out superstars Thiago Almada, Giorgos Giakoumakis, and Caleb Wiley, while parting ways with head coach Gonzalo Pineda and technical director Carlos Bocanegra.
There's been a lot of change and even more distraction. But Atlanta are still hanging around, fighting until the final matchday to take a shot at the 2024 MLS Cup title.
At the same time, the victory potentially extends legendary MLS midfielder Dax McCarty's career. The 19-year veteran is set to retire when Atlanta's season wraps up; he made a late substitute appearance on Saturday.
“It's been a tough season. It's a tough part of the season, and now it's pressure. Some [players] may be feeling that a little bit, and maybe some uncertainty and negativity go into their mind,” Valentino said. “The hardest thing to do when you give everything you have to something, and you fail, is to keep showing up and keep doing it.
“It's easy to give up, but it's hard to keep showing up, and I think that something like this is their reward tonight, and the reward then is to go again and put the pressure on teams and win to put yourself in the playoffs.”
With the winless streak snapped, Atlanta now look ahead to their final clash with an already playoff-bound Orlando side, looking to qualify for the postseason during a tumultuous season.
“I think the difference today\] was that we had more possession and we created a lot of chances. I’m really happy about the performance of our team today and I hope we’ll be saying that after the next game," said midfielder [Bartosz Slisz.
"We’ll see because now not everything depends on us. So we’ll have to also check the other scores.”
