For a sportswriter searching for a metaphor for the current state of Austin FC’s 2024 season (raises hand sheepishly), the unceasing rain that fell on the Texas capital on Wednesday sure seemed appropriate.
Entering Wednesday night’s contest against a red-hot Los Angeles FC at Q2 Stadium (Steve Cherundolo’s team had won six straight), Austin FC were winless in four matches, losing their previous three. An anemic attack has been the biggest reason for Austin FC’s woes.
Before LAFC’s visit, the Verde and Black hadn’t scored a non-penalty goal since Brendan Hines-Ikes smashed in a header on a set piece against the San Jose Earthquakes on May 25th. Picture Charlie Brown glumly staring at the heavens as rain pelts his frowning face: that’s been Austin FC for the past few weeks.
The good news: Austin FC’s non-penalty goal-scoring drought appropriately ended during the rain-soaked match against their California visitors. Unfortunately, when Austin FC were minutes away from a season-defining victory, the ageless Kei Kamara broke the hearts of drenched Verde and Black fans with a 90th-minute headed goal. Most Austin FC supporters would have been elated with a 1-1 draw before kickoff, but after leading for most of the match, a solitary point can’t help but feel like a letdown.
Austin FC started the match brightly. Normally positioned on the right wing, Jader Obrian shifted to the left to accommodate Ethan Finlay, who made his first start since April 20th. Both wingers were dynamic and dangerous in a first half that saw Austin FC look more than comfortable against their more fancied opponents.
“He’s a vertical player,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said of Obrian in his post-match press conference. In recent matches, the Colombian has struggled when Austin FC has come up against teams content to sit off and defend in a lower block. Without space, Obrian’s greatest asset – his blistering speed – is neutralized. Obrian last scored during a two-goal effort versus a porous Sporting Kansas City on May 18th.
Space for Obrian against LAFC came courtesy of Sebastian Driussi. On a night where he was noticeably quiet in attack (Austin FC’s star player didn’t register a single shot in his 90-plus minutes of work), Driussi still found a way to be a difference-maker when he nicked the ball off LAFC’s holding midfielder, Eduard Atuesta in the 19th minute. Driussi gently pushed the ball to the high-flying Obrian, who had all the space he needed to run at a back-peddling LAFC defense. Cutting inside on his dominant right foot, Obrian confidently gave Austin FC an early lead.
“It’s not like he’s a 1 v 1 guy,” Wolff continued about Obrian. “He’s a runner and rider; he runs behind the line well. When he’s on the right side, he’s on his dominant foot…when he’s on the left side, he’s dipping inside.”
After going toe to toe with LAFC in the first half, Austin FC were content to sit deeper after halftime to protect their lead. Austin FC were out-possessed 69% to 31% in the second half. Those justifiably crying out for Austin FC to take more shots will not find any solace in the shot count from Wednesday night’s match – 14 to 3 in favor of LAFC – but it’s important to remember Austin FC’s early goal impacted how they approached the remainder of the game. And the Verde and Black didn’t just defend in the second half; they defended well.
“I think defensively we put in an effort,” Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver said after the match. “All eleven, all 15 guys that played put in an effort worthy of the result. We hoped that we could have taken three (points), but overall I’m proud of the guys,” Stuver added.
Per Fotmob.com, LAFC ended the night with a modest 1.01 expected goals total, and nearly 20% of that was from Kamara’s late header. Notably, Denis Bouanga – scorer of twelve goals already in 2024 and scorer of 25 in 2023 – was kept in check.
Wolff explained how Austin FC kept Bouanga quiet: “I think the first half it’s about keeping the ball and moving them, trying to stress them, and even playing behind him a lot. I think that was a big part of it. We switched the point of attack a lot and got in behind him. As we do that we need to shift and give cover so that if we do lose the ball, typically Alex (Ring) would be in a spot to help prevent and battle with him…when we reduced space and made it difficult, it was pretty good.”
Amid a challenging stretch with center-back Julio Cascante and midfielder Dani Pereira out on international duty at the Copa America, Austin FC remain (barely) a playoff team. The Verde and Black are in the ninth and final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference. The team keeping its collective heads above water – and the playoff line – might be the best anyone can hope for until that duo and new signings winger Osman Bukari and full-back Mikkel Desler are all available for selection.
