5 Stripes Fall 2-1 to New England, Eliminating Chance to Qualify for Playoffs

Atlanta United fell 2-1 to New England Revolution Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in the last road match of the season.

Final from Foxborough. pic.twitter.com/0vmE8ejoPR

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) October 1, 2022

Even with Josef Martínez scoring a second half equalizer, the loss eliminated the team from being able to qualify for the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs, marking the fifth time in six seasons.

“Today we are doomed by not making playoffs because we felt we came here with a good chance to take three points and we didn’t. That’s all I can tell about it today.” said Atlanta United Head Coach Gonzalo Pineda.

“Just devastating. This is a club that should be making the playoffs every single year, no matter what the circumstances are. I know we’ve had a lot of injuries this year and things not go our way, but yeah everyone is very disappointed.” said midfielder Brooks Lennon.

“There were a lot of injuries, a lot of players in and out of the lineup. You saw these last few games especially when the lineup was consistent, and we were able to gel and connect better. For me that’s the biggest thing. We weren’t able to get a starting XI and routine subs in for many games in a row.” said Defender Andrew Gutman.

Atlanta (10-13-10, 40 points) returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia for the final match of the regular season against New York City FC on Decision Day, Sunday, Oct. 9 at 3:30 p.m.