Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Peruvian Perfection puts Austin FC to the sword as Seattle Sounders win 1-0

The Seattle Sounders started five teenagers in the XI due to injuries, suspensions and international duty, and they still took down Austin FC.
Seattle Sounders Austin FC

Austin FC were never going to have a better opportunity to take three points from Seattle Sounders. The Sounders released their injury list pre-game, revealing an astonishing 10 players unavailable for tonight’s match. A mix of Gold Cup absences, suspensions, and injuries, meant the team from Cascadia had to field a significantly weakened starting 11. Three players were making their Sounders debuts. Austin had to come out hard, fast and definitively.

Austin FC began brightly enough. The spry Kekutah Manneh appeared keen to make the most of a rare start. Much of the danger Austin generated came down the left-hand side as the Austin-native combined with Kolmanic. But every cut-back opportunity he created went to waste. No one in the Verde attack was wearing their shooting boots. Everything Rodney Redes down the right-hand side generated suffered a similar fate. Austin were either too anxious or over-eager with the ball. The sloppy end product was the same, with Austin failing to register a single shot on frame in the first 45 minutes.

In Austin’s midfield, too many sideway passes made it easy for Seattle to keep everything in front of them. The young Sounders team, fielding five teenagers, patiently sat deep and wait for their chance to spring forward. They did so on several occasions, with the impressive Samuel Adeniran, in particular, dragging the Austin defense around and creating a couple of dangerous sights on goal.

The second half didn’t change much. Austin extended their possess stats to 75% at one point, but still only managed 3 shots on-frame – the same number that a largely entrenched Sounders team managed. The Sounders, though, had that touch of attacking class that Austin couldn’t muster. Substitute Raúl Ruidiaz spotting Stuver off his line, pinged in an audacious shot from a full 40 yards out.

Austin responded on the 77th minute when Julio Cascante was finally able to make a headed opportunity count, directing Dominguez’s delicious free-kick past Sounders keeper Spencer Richey. The goal didn’t count. Cascante was adjudged by VAR to be offside. The Sounders immediately went up the other end, and Ruidiaz thought he’d scored again. This time the linesman flag intervened.

Austin huffed and puffed to a frustrating and fruitless conclusion. The Sounders teens – with a little magic from a precocious Peruvian – had pulled out an unlikely victory. In truth, though, the Verde just weren’t good enough on a night when they would’ve believed a second home win of the season was there for the taking.

Three Key Takeaways from Sounders vs. Austin FC

Conservatism costs: Too many sideways balls from Austin coupled with too many unnecessary touches slowed the game down, making it all too easy for an inexperienced but organized Sounders team to batten down the hatches…

Class counts: Only then for a truly class piece of attacking skill from Ruidiaz to make the difference. The game-deciding goal served to underscore that Austin don’t seem to have players who can conjure up something similar.

Coaching masterclass: Sounder coach Brian Schmetzer provided one. Josh Wolff at least had a front-row seat, as Austin’s first-year head coach continues to refine his tactics and understanding of how to get a team, even one fielding five teenagers, over the line.

Last Word: Coach Wolff summed it up honestly suggesting that Austin wasted the first half. Austin also lacked structure, cohesion and displayed a dearth of attacking creativity throughout. Perhaps the time off negatively impacted his team? Regardless, the sense of lost opportunity is what lingers.

 

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