Gonzalo Pineda reveals frustration at Atlanta United's 2-2 draw against Philadelphia

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda admitted that his side's 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was 'frustrating'.

The Five Stripes were hoping to finish Sunday in the top three of the Eastern Conference standings at home in front of their supporters. Pineda's side were well on their way to reaching their fourth home victory of the 2024 MLS season with goals from Daniel Rios and Caleb Wiley in the 55th and 63rd minute with Atlanta continuing to create chances against a stout Union defense.

But Atlanta were unable to put the Union away, and Jim Curtin's side remained However, that all changed when Mikael Uhre came off the bench to pull one back for the visitors in the 73rd minute. Four minutes later, Kai Wagner leveled the score with a sensational volley that Brad Guzan was unable to keep out.

Uhre also found the back of the net a second time later on to put Philadelphia in front for the first time of the game, but the move was chalked off due to the Denmark international being in an offside position. It was a close call as Uhre appeared to be onside after video replay, but Jon Freemon went with the ruling on the field.

Speaking to the media, Pineda admitted that the draw was disappointing and that he felt Atlanta were the better side and more deserving of three points rather than one.

"Yes, very [frustrating]. We are winning 2-0 at home, playing very well, creating a lot of chances, and the team was very solid, solid defensively too, but then we gave up two silly goals," Pineda said.

"Of course it is frustrating, because we deserved to win tonight, but we did not. It is frustrating, but the important thing is that after all the frustration and everything, we must learn from it and be better next time."

The two goals conceded were avoidable in Pineda's eyes. On the first strike, substitute Edwin Mosquera's attempted clearance turned into a lofted through ball for Uhre to track down before smashing it home past Guzan.

Philadelphia's Nathan Harriel launched a long throw-in to set up the second goal for the visitors, with Wiley's header falling straight into the path of Wagner. Wagner's volleyed effort was perfectly-placed, but it didn't exactly have the most pace -- which brought forth criticism to club-captain Guzan.

"It happens, but I would say these were from little moments of lack of concentration," Pineda said about his team's errors. "We were very focused in the moments where we had a little mistake in the buildup or something, and we did well correcting those, especially in the first half, with a few good actions in our own box where we defended really well. It felt like there were critical mistakes with no time to react, which creates problems.

"We knew the type of game that was in front of us, and we were trying to look for the game and look to create chances, while [Philadelphia Union] were trying to destroy our attacks and then counter, hit in transition, hit on set pieces, or hit on throw-ins, and we knew that since the beginning of the week. We were prepared for that, but in little moments after the 70th minute, we lost control."

Atlanta return to action this Saturday against FC Cincinnati at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, looking to get back into the win column after two straight draws vs NYCFC and Philadelphia.

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