Atlanta United equals MLS record in win

Ben Valentine

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Atlanta United equals MLS record in win image

It’s been a memorable debut season so far for MLS expansion side Atlanta United and now the club has also hit a historic mark. 

A hat trick from Josef Martinez along with goals from Anton Walkes, Hector Villalba, Yamil Asad and Kevin Kratz saw Atlanta easily dispatch the nine-man New England Revolution on Wednesday evening by a lopsided 7-0 scoreline.

That margin of victory tied an MLS record, set three times in the past. The LA Galaxy beat the Dallas Burn 8-1 in 1998, the Chicago Fire delivered a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards in 2001 and last season saw the New York Red Bulls hand New York City FC an identical 7-0 defeat.

Atlanta also became the first expansion team ever to score seven goals in a game.

It was a fast start for Atlanta as Martinez found the back of the net in just the second minute to give the hosts an early lead. Things got worse for the Revolution in the 16th minute when Xavier Kouassi was sent off with a straight red card after VAR was used.

Martinez would make it 2-0 on a spot kick in the 31st minute after a handball in the area. Then eight minutes later, Antonio Delamea was sent off for a handball denial of a goal scoring opportunity, reducing the Revolution to nine men. Martinez buried the subsequent penalty to complete his hat trick.

Walkes made it 4-0 before the half and after the break, Kratz hit a perfect free kick to make it 5-0. Asad would make it 6-0 three minutes later and then Villalba would get Atlanta its place in the record books with a goal in the 90th minute.

It also proved to a historically impotent night for the short-handed Revolution, who became the first team in MLS history to go an entire game without registering a single shot.

The win moves Atlanta up to fifth in the Eastern Conference on 42 points, while the Revolution remain eighth on 35, six back of the final playoff spot.

Ben Valentine