Rob Valentino is delighted Atlanta United have hit their stride in time for the MLS playoffs and is relishing their Best-of-3 Round One clash with Inter Miami at Chase Stadium.
The Five Stripes overturned the odds on Decision Day to snag a place in the Eastern Conference Wild Card round.
They took a 2-0 lead over CF Montreal before former player Josef Martinez pegged them back to force spot-kicks. Brad Guzan saved one, setting up Saba Lobjanidze to score the winner.
A tough test now awaits them in Miami on Friday, but Valentino is sure they can come up with a plan to get the better of Lionel Messi and co.
"We have worked so hard this season, every training, every game," he said. "Now we're starting to succeed, and it's the best timing in the end of the season to show that. Three in a row is very good! Let's continue!
"I think every time a team plays them, [how to stop Messi is] the question that is asked, right? He's arguably the best player that's ever played.
"We've faced him a few times and we know obviously his qualities. But they've got other players that are good, too. So there has to be a focus on him and also these teammates around him.
"We'll just show up when the game is there, and we'll go to win it."
Meanwhile, Miami, who are playing their first home playoff game, finished the regular season in record-breaking fashion, with their 6-2 victory over New England Revolution taking them to 74 points.
The Supporters' Shield winners are on an 11-match unbeaten streak coming into this match, and head coach Gerardo Martino believes their strong finish will benefit them in the playoffs.
"[The record points total] gives our team an injection of confidence," said Martino.
"These 74 points is not something we aimed for at the start of the year, but as soon as it was within reach, we tried to get it and we did it. It's a triumph for the whole Inter Miami family."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Messi was involved in 1.82 direct goal contributions per 90 minutes this season, his highest rate in a league season in over a decade.
His 11-minute hat-trick off the bench against New England last time out took him to 20 goals for the campaign, adding to his 10 assists, and he is bound to be a threat in the playoffs.
Atlanta United – Saba Lobjanidze
Lobjanidze has come up with big goals throughout the season for Atlanta, but none more so than his match-winning penalty against Montreal on Tuesday.
Though that does not count towards his nine-goal haul for the season, he was still a threat in the Wild Card match, having three shots, two of which were on target, while he also had the most touches in the box among his team-mates (eight).
MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN
After a resounding end to the season, Miami are unsurprisingly favourites to win the first of the Best-of-3 series, but they have stumbled when coming up against Atlanta as of late, drawing their most recent meeting after two straight defeats.
They lost just twice at Chase Stadium in the regular season (W11 D4), with the most recent of those a 3-1 defeat to the Five Stripes back in May, though they are unbeaten in their eight such matches since.
It is just the second time that Miami have made the playoffs – their only previous playoff match was a 3-0 defeat on the road at New York City FC in Round One in 2022.
Meanwhile, Atlanta are making their fifth appearance in the playoffs. They won the MLS Cup back in 2018, but in their two most recent appearances in the postseason, they have failed to get past Round One, losing to Columbus Crew.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami – 62.7%
Draw – 19.8%
Atlanta United – 17.5%
Reigning champs Mona outclass St Jago 6-0 in Group One; STATHS hold Wolmer's 2-2 in Group Three
Reigning champions Mona High produced a six-star performance to start the second round of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup as they hammered St Jago High 6-0 in a lopsided Group One affair at Stadium East Field on Friday.
A brace from Javier Dunn (30th, 56th), and one each from Denzel McKenzie (11th), Demarion Harris (37th), Carlton Brown (67th), and goalkeeper Riquelme Edwards with an 83rd-minute penalty conversion, did the damage for Mona High.
The win saw them take an early lead in the group, which also includes Campion College and St George’s College.
Earlier, St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) came from behind to hold Wolmer’s Boys to a 2-2 stalemate in the curtain-raiser of the double-header. Both STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys have a point in Group Three, with Hydel and Kingston College set to lock horns in the other group fixture on Saturday.
In the feature contest, Mona were always favoured to come out tops given their impressive run of form so far this season, while St Jago progressed as one of the best third-placed teams.
It took Mona little time to assert their authority on the encounter as McKenzie drove home a firm effort from just over 20 yards out for his 13th of the season.
The lead was doubled in at the half-hour mark when Dunn slammed home a right-footer past Adriano Lawrence in goal for St Jago to finish off a decent build-up.
Harris then got in on the act seven minutes later as he fired home after St Jago failed to clear their lines from a corner to put Mona 3-0 up at the break.
The one-way traffic continued on the resumption as St Jago’s lone clearest shot on target was Reece Roman’s 54th-minute shot from a distance.
Two minutes later, Dunn extended Mona’s lead when his intended cross swirled towards goal and left the hapless Lawrence beaten all ends up.
As if things couldn’t get worse for St Jago, Brown struck what might arguably be the goal of the season as he unleashed a delightful drive from the top of the centre circle that gave Lawrence no chance at a save.
Edwards then capped the win with an easy conversion from the 12-yard spot after Brown was felled inside the danger area.
Earlier, STATHS came from behind twice, including a stoppage time equaliser to deny Wolmer’s Boys three points.
Wolmer’s opened the scoring in the seventh minute when captain Daquan Duhaney comfortably slotted home from close range.
However, the lead was short-lived as STATHS pulled level through Kennardo Gordon, whose deflected effort flew past Wolmer’s goalkeeper Yuri Dryden.
Wolmer’s regained the lead in the 34th minute courtesy of Alex Wright’s easy tap-in.
STATHS launched a series of attacks in the hunt for the equaliser and would have had on a few occasions, but for some excellent glovework by Dryden, who literally three his body on the line to keep Wolmer’s in front.
But, STATHS were not to be denied, as they inevitably got back on level terms when Ajetai Marshall fired home in the 90+5 minute to keep his team in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth.
The top two from each group will contest the quarterfinals.
Reggae Girlz suffer 3-0 defeat to France in international friendly
Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz fell 3-0 to powerhouse France in an international friendly contest that demonstrated their tenacity as much as it did the defensive lapses at the Stade Auguste-Bonal on Friday.
Facing a French team ranked 10th in the world, the Reggae Girlz showed early cohesion and confidence that hinted at the prospect of another brave performance similar to when they held the same opponents to goalless stalemate at last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup.
But as the game wore on, France’s unrelenting pressure found cracks in Jamaica’s defence, resulting in two costly errors in the first half that set the tone for a challenging evening.
Clara Mateo (22nd), captain Wendie Renard (39th) and Sandy Baltimore (48th) got on the scoresheet for France, who in all honesty, could have won by a much wider margin.
Despite the result, Reggae Girlz Head coach Hubert Busby emphasized the value of facing elite teams like France.
“Coming up against a really good French team in a really competitive environment was always going to be tough, but I thought overall, as the game went on, the team got better. Again, I think these are the games that we want to play and we have to just keep on building on what we want to do as we head into the next window,” Busby said in a post-game interview.
“When you bring in new players into the group, you can see that they are a little bit disjointed, so the more that we can continue to be together and keep building as a group, the better we'll be. So as of right now, we kind of turn the page and get ready for the next window in Jamaica when we host South Africa. And then we look to build on the, the principles that we've laid this week and look to correct some of the things that we didn't do as well in tonight's match,” he added.
The Girlz showed no signs of being intimidated in the opening minutes, as they moved the ball effectively and kept France’s backline engaged at times.
But as France settled and pressed deeper into Jamaica’s territory, the Girlz’s defence began to struggle under the mounting pressure. The French breakthrough came when Chantelle Swaby attempted to clear, but the ball went astray and into the path of Mateo, who swiftly fired past Rebecca Spencer in goal for Jamaica.
France continued to apply pressure and consistently found gaps in Jamaica’s defence as they created numerous chances which required Spencer to be on her toes. On one of those occasions, the Tottenham Hotspur goaltender got down well in time to parry an effort from Kenza Dali.
However, minutes later Renard eluded Allyson Swaby and Vyan Sampson deep in Jamaica’s 18-yard box and used the full length of her lanky figure to soar high head home Mateo’s weighted corner kick to put France 2-0 up at the break.
Busby, seeing the need for adjustments, made tactical changes in the second half, particularly in the middle of the park, with hopes of getting in behind France’s high defensive line.
Still, the Girlz struggled to contain the French attackers and another defensive mishap saw them fall further behind. This, as Baltimore rifled a left-footer past Spencer after Delphine Cascarino’s cross eluded Tiffany Cameron, who attempted to head clear.
Though three goals down, the Girlz tried to play their game and Jody Brown skipped a defender on a break in the 63rd minute, but her shot was charged down by a second defender.
Five minutes later Kayla McKenna had a grand opportunity to pull one back for the Girlz, but her first touch to get around France’s goalkeeper Constance Picaud in a one-on-one situation was too heavy and the opportunity went begging.
France thought they had another when Renard again headed home from close range, but the goal was called back by VAR for an offside in the build up play.
Mousinho laments 'disappointing' Sheffield Wednesday defeat
John Mousinho was left upset and disappointed by his Portsmouth side as they remained bottom of the Championship following a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.
Connor Ogilvie handed Portsmouth a deserved lead a minute before half-time after a corner kick found the defender unmarked at the back post to fire home.
But Wednesday responded strongly after the break, levelling through Josh Windass who finished from close range after Michael Smith's clever knock-down.
Smith then sealed the win in stunning fashion in the 70th minute, rifling a sweet first-time strike from outside the box into the top corner against his former club.
Portsmouth are still without a win at Fratton Park since their return to the Championship, and have now lost 12 points from winning positions in the second tier this season, more than any other team.
"I’m disappointed, especially with the nature of losing after going a goal up into half-time," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.
"It was a contrasting performance, from Tuesday night at Cardiff, but ultimately, we haven’t done enough to win the game and weren’t quite good enough to do it.
"I’m still really upset with the fact we lost it, but there was a very different message to the players in the dressing room compared to Tuesday.
"That being said, we still have to be a lot better."
But for Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl, they are now unbeaten in their last three away games, and moved into the top half of the table ahead of this weekend's action.
The Owls face Premier League side Brentford in the last 16 of the EFL Cup next Tuesday, and Rohl believes the comeback win can only be a positive moving forward.
"It was a strong comeback after being 1-0 down," Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"First half we were okay but we changed things at half-time. Coming from behind at Coventry and now here shows a step forward in our development.
"It's just three points, we climb the table eight places with a win but if you lose you drop down.
"But for me it's more important to improve and there is still room for that."
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