???? Atlanta pull off Inter Miami upset; Orlando and NYCFC advance on pens

The MLS Cup Playoffs continued Saturday evening with a trio of decisive third matches from the Eastern Conference, including Atlanta United’s trip to Miami in search of a major upset.

Scorers: Rojas 17', Messi 65'; Thiaré 19′, 21′, Slisz 76′

Atlanta United have pulled off an all-time MLS upset with a match three win over Inter Miami to send the Supporters Shield holders out of the playoffs.

It was utter chaos in the opening 25 minutes, as Inter Miami took the lead through Matías Rojas, but within four minutes Atlanta had responded with a pair of goals from Jamal Thiaré.

The hosts unleashed relentless pressure after the break as they looked to pull level on the night to save their season. And while Brad Guzan made a number of superb saves to keep the Herons out, the visitors were finally undone — and who else would score the leveler but Lionel Messi?

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The Argentine struggled to find space throughout the night, but he was seemingly ignored by the Atlanta rearguard when he darted into the box to get on the end of a cross and head home his first ever MLS Cup Playoffs goal.

While Miami looked poised to go on and find the winner, it was the Five Stripes who stunned the home crowd by reclaiming the lead in the final 15 minutes thanks to a back-post header from Bartosz Slisz.

They may have pushed to pull off another late fight-back, but the hosts couldn’t find the all-important leveler a second time, seeing their record setting season end in catastrophe.

Scorers: Torres (P) 98′ ; Świderski 81′

Orlando City needed a 98th minute equalizer from the spot and a penalty shootout, but they booked their place in the semifinal after a dramatic series with Charlotte FC

Unlike the game earlier in Cincinnati, the attacking play was at the forefront in Orlando in the opening exchanges of the match three affair.

Facundo Torres hit the post twice in a matter of minutes as Orlando City pushed for the opener in front of their home fans, but it was Charlotte who put the ball in the back of the net first.

In the dying minutes of the first-half, Patrick Agyemang slotted home a superb chip to seemingly give the visitors the lead, but the striker’s celebrations were cut short when the referee raised his flag after Agyemang caught offside in the buildup.

Charlotte did finally take the lead in the final 10 minutes however, when a lightning counter-attack was capped off by second-half sub Karol Świderski.

While it appeared Charlotte would hold on and book their semifinal ticket, a late shirt-pull in the box saw Orlando awarded a penalty deep into stoppage-time, which Facundo Torres initially saw saved but the Uruguayan tapped home his own rebound to send the affair to a penalty shootout.

Veteran keeper Pedro Gallese made a pair of huge saves in the shootout, ensuring Orlando held on to book their ticket to the semifinal, where they will await the winner of Inter Miami and Atlanta United.

NYCFC stunned the higher-seeded FC Cincinnati in a penalty shootout to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Silky attacking football was not the theme of the opening 45 minutes as both sides searched for footing in the game.

The best chance of the opening interval fell to Luca Orellano, but the Cincinnati man’s close-range effort was denied in style by Matt Freese in the NYCFC net.

High quality scoring chances remained few and far between in the dying minutes of the match, seeing the affair go to penalties to decide the series.

It was the goalkeepers’ show in the penalty shootout, as the two shot-stoppers matched each other’s saves on multiple occasions before a final Cincinnati miss saw the hosts crash out in dramatic fashion.

The result sets up an Eastern Conference semi-final showdown between New York rivals NYCFC and New York Red Bulls.

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