ORLANDO, Fla. – At the end of the 2017 campaign, Atlanta United finished their impressive expansion season in MLS with four wins on the road.
At the end of Sunday night’s 2-1 victory at Orlando City, Tata Martino’s men equaled that tally 11 games into the 2018 regular season, a feat the head coach said is deserving for his Atlanta United side.
“It’s very important, especially in a league where winning on the road is so difficult,” Martino said. “I think it’s really important and I think we’re deserving of it, and even more so coming off of a loss at home on Wednesday.”
Atlanta United, who are 4-1-0 on the road this year, fell 2-0 at home during midweek action against Sporting Kansas City, but have collected six points in their last two matches away this month, with a 2-1 win at Toyota Park against the Chicago Fire on May 5 and most recently Sunday night's win at Orlando City Stadium.
Atlanta midfielder Ezequiel Barco said it was good to get back to winning ways even if on the road despite dropping last week’s midweek game at home.
"I think the team, we're getting better as whole,” said Barco. “Wednesday's game [against SKC] was tough, especially playing down a man, but the most important thing for us is to keep trying to improve and get better."
Barco scored his second goal in three games for Atlanta on Sunday – with both of those goals being on the road.
"Yeah every time I feel better,” said Barco after he scored the eventual game-winner Sunday night. “It's important for us to keep getting these points to stay up at the top of the table and just to keep getting better."
For goalkeeper Alec Kann, who started in place of Brad Guzan as the No. 1 served a red-card suspension for the match, while the road game record wasn't forefront in his mind, he’s also not surprised by it.
“Our form on the road, minus Houston, has been great. We've come in with great gameplans, guys have been mentally sharp, and we've done what we need to do," Kann said.
