Atlanta United FC had to start somewhere, and Finley Stadium provided a memorable launching point Saturday afternoon.
Playing in its first friendly, the Major League Soccer expansion franchise scored twice in the first half and twice again in the second to register a 4-0 win over the Chattanooga Football Club of the National Premier Soccer League before 12,484 energetic fans.
“It was a good first test for us,” Atlanta United defender Greg Garza said afterward. “Personally, I think we have a lot still to work on, but it was good to see how we can actually go out there and build that chemistry.”
Saturday’s crowd was a surprisingly robust follow-up to the 17,903 who watched the U.S. men’s national team defeat Jamaica 1-0 at Finley on Feb. 3. Finley Stadium executive director Paul Smith said Saturday’s walk-up crowd was “tremendous,” and he estimated that at least 70 percent of the fans were supporting Atlanta United, which has sold more than 27,000 season tickets.
The south stands were full 30 minutes into the match, and the standing areas behind the goals were overflowing, so the north stands were opened to the delight of the crowd. It was the second match at Finley in eight days for Garza, who is a member of the U.S. national team but did not play against Jamaica.