Giorgos Giakoumakis scored the lone goal for Atlanta.(Photo courtesy of Atlanta United)

Here’s a sobering thought:

Jordan Morris has scored as many goals in one game (four), than the Red Bulls have in six matches this season.

That’s right.

The Red Bulls’ sorry start to the 2023 MLS campaign continued on Saturday night as they dropped a 1-0 decision at Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

That’s right.

The same Atlanta United team that the Red Bulls have owned since they started playing in 2017.

In fact, Atlanta snapped a 12-game winless regular season streak (0-8-4) against New York.

The setback left the Red Bulls in 12th place out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference with a 1-2-3 mark and six points in as many matches, while Atlanta improved to 4-1-1 and 13 points.

Not exactly the way head coach Gerhard Struber had planned to launch the season. The Red Bulls have been blanked three times already.

The Red Bulls changed their shape in the second half, play with two strikers and two playmakers, but it didn’t help their quest to equalize.

“This gives us a little more push against the backline and I felt like [Atlanta United] struggled in the first 15 to 20minutes,” Struber said. “I think, during this time, we created the most possible chances, but not high-quality chances, but there were some good chances, especially with starting transition moments, and Cory [Burke] was very close. At the end, you need a little bit of luck here to win, and I think we were a little bit unlucky today, but our expectation was it was a really good day, and everyone is very disappointed with the result.”

Needless to say.

Atlanta tallied the lone goal of the match in the eighth minute before a crowd of 43,511.

From Atlanta’s defensive third, Miles Robinson played a long ball diagonally to former Red Bull Derrick Etienne Jr. on the left side. The winger found Thiago Almada on the edge of the penalty area where he ripped a shot from distance aimed at the far post, which goalkeeper Carlos Coronel spilled in front of goal. Giorgos Giakoumakis was ready on the doorstep and slammed in his second goal of the season.

Keeper Brad Guzan recorded the shutout.

Referee Alex Chilowicz doled out 10 yellow cards, six to the visitors.

“Sometimes we are out of balance, and I think this was a bit of a disadvantage for us because we were not calm in the balance of creating better chances,” Struber said. “I think we had enough transitional opportunities for better moments, but in the end, I cannot be super happy with my boys today. “

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.