Austin FC gains draw with Seattle for first ’24 MLS point
Whether it deserved a result or not is debatable, but Austin FC certainly isn't giving the point it gained in Seattle late Saturday night back.
Playing in the rain on the new turf at Lumen Field, El Tree turned in about as blasé a performance as possible and still recorded a 0-0 draw with the Sounders. Austin FC (0-1-1, 1 point) returns home to face St. Louis on Saturday.
Here are some thoughts from Saturday night's match:
Good result, poor play for Austin FC
Considering it played again without star midfielder Sebastián Driussi, and that it had to bring three players from Austin FC II on the trip for emergency depth, and that it generally played poorly for most of the night, this result should be considered a giant success for El Tree.
Anytime you gain a point on the road is a positive, but Seattle outplayed Austin FC from start to finish, with the Verde & Black showing little creativity and producing just a few scoring opportunities. Austin FC was outshot 23-2 — with its first shot not coming until the 74th minute — gave up nine corner kicks while having none itself, finished with an expected goals stat of 0.09 and only had 42% of possession.
Defense was a strong point, at least
With all of the above said, you still have to give the Verde & Black credit for taking a point — especially without Driussi. The defense of Zan Kolmanic, Jon Gallagher, Matt Hedges, Julio Cascante and Guilherme Biro — who came on for Komanic midway through the second half — was solid, with Gallagher in particular having a good game.
Cascante and Hedges deserve praise for producing under circumstances where they knew they needed to play the full match.
Goalie Brad Stuver made a couple of nice saves, and with the offense doing very little, all of the praise for this
game goes to the back line.
Josh Wolff makes some roster moves
Austin FC coach Josh Wolff fielded the right starting lineup in having Diego Rubio at striker instead of Gyasi Zardes and Jáder Obrian as right-side winger. Both players were good when they came on in the second half of the season opener against Minnesota, and each had flashes Saturday when they showed what they can bring to the field.
It appears Rubio is in better shape than anticipated, as he played 66 minutes, and Obrian is dangerous in the open run of play with his speed.
Penalty not given
As strange as it sounds, Austin FC was a call away from possibly winning.
Dani Pereira was taken down in the Seattle box early in the second half and El Tree wasn’t awarded a penalty. Replays clearly showed Pereira getting hit on his right leg, which caused him to fall.
Wolff vehemently — and understandably — argued with referee Rafael Santos following the play and was given a yellow card.
Man of the match: Jon Gallagher
After a subpar performance vs. Minnesota, Gallagher was back to his usual stellar self against the Sounders. He made several impressive plays to thwart Seattle attacks and held down the right side for the full 90 minutes. Gallagher was by far Austin FC’s best player on the night.
Quality of play needs to improve
In seven days, the only thing that will matter from this match is that Austin FC took a point. You don’t apologize for getting results on the road, but the Verde & Black will have to be much better going forward.