Atlanta United will get a week off on Saturday, August 8, before returning to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, August 15. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice Momentum ebbs and flows, and for the Major League Soccer based in Atlanta, there’s currently a flow. And it’s downstream.  Atlanta United will play one more road game at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, against the Philadelphia Union before returning home to Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, August 15. The Five Stripes have been on the road for the past two weeks in Nashville, Charlotte, and most recently, in New England. The record on the road trip is now 0-2-1. Next up, another road match in New Jersey against the New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm) on Saturday, August 1. This will be the second time the two teams have played this season. Atlanta United defeated the Red Bulls 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 14. That rematch might be coming at the right time, but then again, it might not. The Red Bulls have played much better since March. Atlanta United not so much. In Nashville, the first game back from the FIFA World Cup break, Atlanta United lost 1-0. For 97 of the 100 minutes (there were 10 minutes of stoppage time to end the game), the Five Stripes were the better team, but that didn’t matter.  Atlanta United (above, at training in Marietta) has been on the road since Major League Soccer (MLS) restarted three weeks ago. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice Following that game, defender Enea Mihaj, one of the better players that night, but now without fault, said that it doesn’t matter whether it’s on the road or at home; the team just has to play better. That, of course, was now two road losses ago.  “We have to win games, today, for example, we played better. Be more efficient, believe, then we can score and win games,” he said. “Now what is missing is getting something out of the way we play. We are missing that now.”  Continuing their quality play of late, Atlanta United found a way to tie the match in Charlotte on Wednesday, July 22, after being down by two goals in the second half. Earning a point on the road and that kind of comeback is something that hadn’t happened this season for the Five Stripes. Atlanta United has not played well on the road this season. They are 1-2-6 on the road following the draw in Charlotte and the loss in New England. Moving on to Saturday in Foxboro, Massachusetts, Atlanta United gave up four goals before scoring their first, from Miguel Almiron, during a 4-1 loss on Saturday, July 25. All of the momentum from the comeback in Charlotte went out of the window as they went down 2-0 at halftime and immediately gave up a goal to Revolution wunderkind Peyton Miller in the 55th minute and later to fellow youngster Brooklyn Raines in the 66th minute. Atlanta United was without key players in New England, including Ajani Fortune, who also missed the game in Charlotte, and Tomas Jacob, who was out due to a yellow-card suspension. On a brighter note, one of the team’s other key players, Miguel Almiron, has scored in consecutive matches for the first time this season. He scored one of Atlanta United’s two goals in Charlotte and the only goal in New England. A more offensively involved Almiron will go a long way to getting the stands inside The Benz full again. Wins could do that, too.  The post Atlanta United, battered and bruised, set to return home on August 15 appeared first on The Atlanta Voice. ...read more read less