Austin FC starts five-match stretch in 14 days with a much-needed bounce-back win
Austin FC has started its initial busy stretch of the season with a win.
Playing its first of five games in 14 days, El Tree came away with a much-deserved 1-0 win over CF Montreal Saturday night at Q2 Stadium.
Dominating the run of play for long stretches of the game, Austin FC was particularly impressive the final 20 minutes, and it was only a matter of time before it produced a goal. That came in the 88th minute, when Maxi Urruti’s finish from inside the 6-yard box capped off a brilliant combination of play.
Sebastián Driussi started the stretch by winning a ball in El Tree’s half, giving a good lead pass to Nick Lima down the right side, who then sent in a beautiful cross through the box that Jon Gallagher headed back to Urruti.
It’s a fair result for Austin FC, who with good finishing likely could have won the game by three or four goals. Here are some thoughts from the match as it’ll be a quick turnaround for El Tree, who heads to the Dominican Republic for the first round of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday vs. Haitian side Violette AC.
It wasn't a must-win, but it sure was nice to win
While this wasn’t a must-win game for Austin FC, it’s a victory that starts off a brutal section of the schedule on the right note.
And playing a Montreal team that entered the contest decimated on defense by injuries, it would have been disappointing to tie a team that's nowhere close to full strength at home — not to mention beginning the season with only one point from a two-game home-stand.
El Tree had more possession and significantly more scoring chances in the first half, while Urruti hit the post after coming on late in the second half before his goal, and Ethan Finlay nearly scored when his one-touch off another LIma cross went directly to Montreal goalie Jonathan Sirois.
Credit has to be given to head coach Josh Wolff, as he made all the right decisions on second-half substitutions with Lima, Urruti and Gallagher.
Reconfigured defense checked a lot of boxes
Simply put, Austin FC’s defense was phenomenal.
The focus leading up to the game was what personnel Wolff would use on defense with center back Julio Cascante injured, and he started Alex Ring at center back and Gallagher at right back to go along with regular starters Zan Kolmanic at left back and Leo Väisänen at center back.
Though not a true center back, Ring was exceptional and led the defense. He and Väisänen played about as perfect a game as center backs can, while Kolmanic and Gallagher were both stellar.
Montreal produced one notable scoring chance all game, which is a tribute to how good the El Tree defense was as a whole.
Lima, who started at right back in the season opener and for all of last year, spent most of the game on the bench. But him not starting left Wolff versatility, as he could sub in at either center back or outside back, whereas Gallagher would only be comfortable at outside back.
Bohls: Austin FC's shocking loss in opener was punctuated by defensive breakdowns
Lima ended up coming on in the 75th minute to his usual right back spot, which pushed Gallagher up to left-side winger, where he played prior to last season. Lima was excellent in his time on the field, providing multiple solid crosses in addition to fresh legs.
Lima should also be available to start or play plenty of minutes Tuesday.
After last week’s shaky defensive performance, this was the perfect response for El Tree.
Rigoni: three scoring chances, no goals
Emiliano Rigoni had three scoring chances in the first half, two of which were direct shots on goal, that he didn’t convert.
As one of the team’s three designated players — meaning his salary doesn’t count against the salary cap — that can’t happen, as his salary is likely north of $2 million and he’s being paid to produce.
Rigoni wasn’t poor in regular play on the field, but with being a designated player comes expectations, and with those chances he had he should have had at least one goal to give Austin FC a lead going into halftime.
Turning back the clock, Stuver goes all-80's
On a lighter note, Brad Stuver’s goalie kit of purple shorts with long pink socks and a pink shirt featuring gold lettering is a nightmare of a color combination and easily one of the bottom five outfits in the MLS.
As fellow media noted, it looked more like something out of the late 1980s — possibly from a "Miami Vice" episode? — or a casual Easter Bunny costume.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC blanks CF Montreal, starts busy two-week stretch with a win
