Osman Bukari and Mikkel Desler have arrived, and boy, does Austin FC need them.

A moment of madness, a visceral sign of mounting frustration (he hasn’t scored since May 18th) – whatever you want to call it, Sebastian Driussi’s red card against FC Dallas couldn’t have come at a worse time for a struggling team that had lost three of its last four matches.

Minus their captain and Designated Player (DP) superstar, Bukari – a Ghanian international winger who has banged in goals at the World Cup and in the UEFA Champions League – and Desler – a left-back who lifted the 2022/23 Coup de France with Toulouse FC – suited up for the Verde and Black at a critical juncture in their season. The team needs points and needs them promptly.

Austin FC entered Saturday night’s contest at Q2 Stadium with Charlotte FC below Major League Soccer’s (MLS’s) Western Conference playoff line. A helter-skelter 2-2 draw against Charlotte means Austin FC will be two points behind the team currently occupying the ninth and final playoff spot, Minnesota United, when MLS play resumes on August 24th after the Leagues Cup pause.

The solitary point is decent, but – pardon the obviousness of this statement – three would have been much better, especially since the match started brilliantly for the hosts. Going against expectation, Charlotte FC, a team that ranks near the bottom of MLS in possession, began the game with more of the ball. In the eleventh minute, Austin FC burned their visitors for their more proactive approach.

A harassing press led by a more advanced Dani Pereira (he played in Driussi’s left-sided, attacking midfield role) allowed left-back Guilherme Biro to intercept a pass from Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Pereira then found himself on the edge of the box to ping a pass from Jader Obrian to the surging Alex Ring, who headed home the opening goal. His strut in front of the north end stand after the goal seemed to say: “I’m still here; I still have plenty to offer.”

“We’ve done a great job with high pressing,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said in his post-match press conference. “Too often we probably haven’t turned that (high pressing) into chances.”

Wolff is right. Per Opta, Austin FC headed into Saturday night’s match ranked 14th in MLS in passes per defensive action (PPDA). While imperfect, PPDA is a decent way of measuring the intensity of a team’s press. Austin FC are allowing their opponents an average of 13.2 passes before they attempt a defensive action.

Despite being roughly mid-table in pressing intensity, Austin FC had only taken 18 shots after high turnovers – tied with Nashville for the fewest shots taken after high turnovers in the league. Austin FC are pressing well enough, but they haven’t been turning that pressure into scoring chances.

“I like to run,” Pereira said post-match when asked about the role his pressing played in Austin FC’s opening goal. “Josh told me to press their center-backs…I thought I did a pretty good job.”

Unfortunately for Austin FC, their early advantage was squandered a little over 20 minutes later when a clumsy Ring challenge on Charlotte winger Iuri Tavares (Tavares had his back to goal when Ring clattered into him) was deemed worthy of a penalty. Karol Swiderski didn’t miss from the spot, and the match went into halftime deadlocked at one.

“Self-inflicted” would also be an appropriate way of describing the second goal Austin FC conceded. A Charlotte FC throw-in to Ashley Westwood led to the midfielder floating a cross to Tavares, who outmuscled Austin FC right-back Hector Jimenez – looking very much his 35 years of age – while heading in the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute.

A minute later, Jimenez was replaced at right-back by Desler as part of a triple substitution. Jon Gallagher came on at left-back for Biro, and Bukari saw his debut come to its conclusion with the introduction of Owen Wolff. Of these three subs, Gallagher would have the biggest impact on the match.

Pushed forward to a left-wing position after Zan Kolmanic came on in the 74th minute, Gallagher lurked into the penalty area to fire a Diego Rubio (a 65th replacement at striker for Gyasi Zardes) assist by Kahlina to level the match at two.

Both Bukari and Desler showed glimpses of their quality without necessarily having significant influences. The way Bukari slithered around Charlotte center-back Andrew Privett – the young American practically drilled himself into the ground trying to stop Bukari – early in the first half should have been enough to get Austin FC fans daydreaming of the excitement the new signing can offer.

“Buka is dynamic. There’s no doubt about it,” Wolff said of Bukari post-match. “His one v one is going to be something that causes problems.” On Desler, Wolff said: “I thought Mikkel especially gave a good calm to the game. You can see his quality with his ball and positioning right away.”

Perhaps the best news of the night for Austin FC came when Wolff confirmed that Driussi’s suspension will only be one match and not three as many feared. The Verde and Black will need its established star to combine effectively with the new arrivals for a late-season surge to materialize.

Eric McCoy

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