Orlando City advanced to the Eastern Conference final on Sunday afternoon at home after defeating Atlanta United 1-0 on a first half goal from Ramiro Enrique.
A strange match that started with both teams playing cautiously for the most part in the early stages had its first flash point with an injury to Jamal Thiare on a challenge from Wilder Cartagena. Advantage was played but the contact to Thiare's knee and his fall on that left knee left him struggling to continue.
He ultimately did play on for a while, but could not start or stop running comfortably and had to be substituted after the goal. Daniel Rios entered the match just before halftime, but then his day ended early due to a head injury after taking a direct hit on a long ball to the temple seconds into the second half.
"It became difficult, especially in the second half when we had to take both forwards off, we had no actual focal point," said Rob Valentino. When asked about the decision to move Saba Lobjanidze into that role first before having Alexey Miranchuk play there later in the half, Valentino said, "It was, we don't have a forward and we know that Saba can stay on the pitch and play kind of anywhere and let him and Alexey start to roam a little bit."
Atlanta found intermittent moments of rhythm with a makeshift lineup and battled until the end, but never found a shot to trouble Pedro Gallese and time ran out on their season.
"You don't want it to end," Dax McCarty said. "Especially with how the last month has been. It's been a great ride. So many wonderful memories and moments from this last month in these last six, seven games."
For McCarty, it was the last match of his illustrious career after announcing his retirement earlier this season. He was substituted in the 69th minute as the team chased the equalizing goal. "Certainly when when I went off and sat on the bench reality hits that look, we could get back in this game, but it could also be the last time I step on the field. And so as the clock ticked down, it got a little bit more real and a little bit more emotional. And then when the final whistle blows, it's bittersweet, really more bitter in the moment."
He continued, "But you look up in the stands and it ends where it began with my family around and my parents there and my brother there and some of my best friends I grew up with there and my kids there and... yeah, I think just really felt a lot of gratitude in the moment and a lot of pride."
A large number of Atlanta United fans made the trip to Orlando for the match and their presence was felt throughout the afternoon by the team. "I said it to everybody that's been a part of it and been here for some of the journey. I'm appreciative. I'm grateful. I don't have a great speech prepared for something like this, but I'm really grateful for all the support that they've shown the club, they've shown the players, myself, my family. I'm really grateful for them. They're some of the best fans in this league and I wish I could contribute to more joyous moments."
Valentino and his coaching staff were cited as a major contributor to the joyous moments created during the playoff run.
Brad Guzan said, "It would have been easy to chuck the towel in back in the regular season. (I'm) pretty confident that if they had chucked it in, it would have been really difficult for the group to say, 'Okay, we're up for this challenge. They never did that once, not one single day. For that, we owe them a huge amount of gratitude. Because, like I said, you have these moments, these memories over the last couple weeks. Without that belief in the beginning, I don't think you have those moments."
"It's a collective effort of being persistent and continuing to show up," Valentino said. "When you see people not give up on you, I think it's easy to try to replicate that. So, I told them I'm grateful for their effort and their work."
McCarty said this about the coaching staff, "They dealt with every single piece of adversity that came their way with grace, with humility. They were unwavering. I mean, that's the best thing I can say about them. I've mentioned it before that I had doubts about our ability to come together as a group and make a push to give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs and they never wavered. They continued to tell us they believed in us and they continued to tell us to keep fighting and that things would click and it would come together and it did."
"I think that speaks volumes to the camaraderie that they created as coaches, but also the camaraderie they created amongst our group in the most important games. Nothing but wonderful things to say about those guys. I thanked Rob for everything. He was in a tough situation and I think he made the absolute most of it. I have zero doubt that he should be a head coach somewhere in MLS and I hope that this run proved that."
The feeling after the match was one of sadness but gratitude for a memorable run that saw Atlanta get into the postseason on Decision Day, survive a penalty shootout in Montreal in the Wild Card round, and then eliminate the top seeded Inter Miami in a three-game series winning the last match on the road.
Guzan said, "To kind of see it all come together, be it for a shorter run that we would have liked is something that I'll certainly take away from how these last few weeks played out in terms of the feelings, the positivity, the good vibes as the kids say these days. There were some special moments over the course of the last couple weeks, and that's something I'll certainly take away."
McCarty said when asked about his midfield partners and their development this season, "(It's) a little bittersweet that I won't get to play with them anymore and continue to build those connections. I think the most difficult thing to accept is that you build relationships with people and you build bonds with people who some are half your age. And then you feel like they help you still feel young and you help them get better. I'll miss that dichotomy and I'll miss that relationship with the guys and not just the midfielders, but all the guys. I'll miss my young guys 5v2 rondo because that's some of the most enjoyment I got out of the season was with those guys."
✍️: Jason Longshore
📷: Nick Aliffi
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