Austin FC goes from seeing green at friendly Q2 to seeing red in CONCACAF debut loss

If you were to draw up a worst-case scenario for Austin FC in the club’s first game in the CONCACAF Champions League, Tuesday might have been it.

In a performance that was nothing short of a disaster, El Tree lost 3-0 to Haitian side Violette AC at Cibao FC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.

Miche-Naider Chéry scored twice in the first half on headers for Violette AC and Austin FC had a somewhat embarrassing own goal early in the second half by defender Amro Tarek to account for the scoring.

Here are some thoughts on the match as El Tree returns to MLS play Saturday at Real Salt Lake:

Austin FC’s depth may have been vastly overestimated

El Tree head coach Josh Wolff fielded a lineup of mainly reserves, and it showed for the first 53 minutes as the team fell behind 3-0 with play that looked unorganized, uninspired and, frankly, poor.

Left-side winger Diego Fagúndez, goalie Brad Stuver and Nick Lima — who usually plays right back, but was moved to center back for the contest — were the only regular starters to begin the match, with right-side winger Ethan Finlay and striker Maxi Urruti being the other players who regularly receive playing time.

Outside of Lima, other defenders, left back Adam Lundkvist, center back Tarek and right back Hector Jimenez made their first appearances of the year, along with midfielders Sofiane Djeffal and Jhojan Valencia and forward Rodney Redes.

This was due to the regular starters being on two days' rest, it being still early in the season. Presumably, the plan is to field the team’s strongest lineup possible in the second leg next Tuesday at Q2 Stadium.

But the end result was one that left a lot to be desired — and that’s likely being kind.

El Tree needed its regulars to get things in order

Before subs came on in the 54th minute with the team trailing 3-0, Austin FC was disjointed at best, though when regular players Emiliano Rigoni, Owen Wolff and Jon Gallagher subbed on for Valencia, Redes and Jimenez, the play improved.

But it didn’t improve quickly enough until the game’s last 20 minutes, and by that point, it was too late.

It says something about how poorly the first 53 minutes went when Wolff had to send on one of his designated players, Rigoni, whose large salary doesn't count against the salary cap, to play in a game Wolff likely had no desire to use him.

Austin FC’s issues on defense were particularly exposed

Both first-half goals came off assists on crosses from Austin FC’s right side, with Chéry heading the ball past El Tree goalie Brad Stuver each time on nice finishes.

Lima had poor defending on Roberto Louima on the first goal, with Louima beating him in a one-on-one situation before sending in a cross to Chéry. Then Jimenez had bad positioning on the second goal, which allowed Denilson Pierre to put in a perfect cross.

Tarek was marking Chéry in the box both times but not closely enough.

The own goal was the low mark on a night of lows

Stuver got little help in the first half from his back line, then things compounded early in the second half, when Tarek had an own goal trying to clear the ball, putting El Tree down 3-0.

It was the second time in 10 days Austin FC had an embarrassing mistake by a center back.

Starting center back Julio Cascante’s injury has shown a glaring lack of depth that perhaps not even those within the club thought was possible, and it’s become apparent the team needs to make another signing at that spot.

And now, the glass half-full report

Whether this performance will be remembered or not depends on if Austin FC hammers Violette AC in the second leg. To advance, El Tree will have to win by four or more goals to take the first round on aggregate, or win by three goals in regulation and then win on penalties.

Wolff gambled with a lineup where presumably the idea was to win by a goal or tie. That didn’t happen, and now Austin FC’s best players will have to clean up a mess left to them with a dominating performance in the second leg.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC loses 3-0 in CONCACAF Champions League debut match