Down a Place, Graded a Rescue

Atlanta United went into Saturday night 13th in the Eastern Conference. They came out 14th.

Columbus Crew beat Colorado 3-0 and stepped over them. That is the whole mechanism. None of it is a verdict on what Atlanta did in Miami.

Tito Avondale had the drop on this site at 11:58 p.m. ESPN's report went up at 2:17 a.m. It called the draw "a valuable point" for "the struggling Atlanta team."

Struggling and valuable, one clause, from the outlet that publishes the standings.

So look at what the standings did. Atlanta are 14th of 15 on 22 points, and only CF Montreal sit below them. The gap to ninth, the last playoff place, was four points on Saturday morning. It is five now. They earned a point and lost a point of ground.

They did it in the best month they have had all year. 10 points from the last 15. The first four closed seven points of that gap. The fifth gave one back.

Two penalties awarded in Miami. One went in.

Here is the part the debut write-ups left out. There are 11 matches left. Three of the five clubs Atlanta have to climb over are on that schedule: D.C. United, Toronto and Red Bull New York. Philadelphia Union, the club actually standing on the line, is not. Neither is Columbus. Atlanta cannot take a single point off the club holding ninth. They have to outrun it from across the room.

That is what the point bought. Not nothing. Not a rescue.

Five points with 11 to play is bad, not finished, and I am not burying a side that walked into Miami and refused to lose.

But every headline I read led with Breel Embolo. Not one of them led with the table.

Go read the table.