CHESTER — Early in the season, a home draw against a feisty Atlanta United side would be a result to live with.
With just 12 points left to gain on the season, it feels like not enough.
Goals by Nathan Harriel and Saba Lobjanidze within 11 minutes canceled out as the teams situated ninth and 11th in the Eastern Conference drew, 1-1, at Subaru Park Saturday night.
The Union (9-12-10, 37 points) remain ninth, but they lose a chance to keep pace with eighth-place Toronto and instead are now tied with 10th-place Montreal. Atlanta United (8-13-10, 34 points) stay 11th.
Harriel scored for the second straight year against Atlanta and his first league goal of the season, in the 61st, running into a ball feathered across to the top of the box by Kai Wagner. For Wagner, it’s his franchise-record 51st career MLS assist.
Harriel was the one caught ball-watching 11 minutes later, though, when Brooks Lennon got to the byline and fired a cross. Lobjanidze was all alone in the six-yard, and the Georgian headed home his eighth goal of the year.
The Union had the better of the first half, with 51.8 percent of the ball, a proportion that ran north of 60 percent for the first 20 minutes. After the Union survived a poor start to D.C. but nonetheless led by two after 16 minutes, a fast start was a priority.
But it amounted to nothing. Brad Guzan pushed a Jack McGlynn shot wide in the eighth minute, and the veteran goalie scooped away a dangerous cross by Mikael Uhre in the 17th. The Union had the ball in the back of the net off that corner, Uhre deflecting home a Harriel drive, but Daniel Gazdag was clearly offside earlier in the move.
Atlanta created the most dangerous of chances of the opening 45, all in the final 10 minutes of the half. Daniel Rios, two years removed from a four-goal outburst against the Union as a member of Charlotte, got goal side of his man but couldn’t redirected a cross at the near post on frame in the 39th minute. Derrick Williams could’ve done better with service on a corner in the 42nd.
The Union ended up with 19 attempts, six on target. They kept pushing to the final action of the game. Sub Sam Adeniran got caught on his weak foot when a ball pinged to him in the 86th, Guzan easily equal to the test. Adeniran’s dipping drive from outside the box in the 89th was more testing. Tai Baribo headed wide in the fourth minute of stoppage time off a Wagner cross, then Guzan’s fifth save was a kick denial of Gazdag inside the box, just before Jakob Glesnes sent a missile over the bar.
