Evidently, Austin FC’s first Copa Tejas game and victory earlier in the week had taken its toll. The win over Houston, combined with a cumulative high-minute count from a number of key players so far this season, had taken it out of some of the ATX players, according to head coach Josh Wolff.
Wolff and the medical team had concerns over the fitness and wellness of leading scorer, Cecilio Dominguez, auxiliary number 9 Jon Gallagher, and two-goal hero and MLS Player of the Week Tomas Pochettino. Their concerns, according to the coach, necessitated some changes to the starting line-up v I-35 rival FC Dallas. Add to that the perceived need to manage the introduction of their recently arrived attacking acquisition Sebastian Driussi, and the Verde were left with very limited offensive options. And once the game kicked off, it showed.
FC Dallas Triumph Over an Underwhelming Austin FC
In an effort to compensate for the lack of attacking options, Austin fielded an unfamiliar 5-2-3 formation or some variation of it. The upshot, central defenders Matt Besler, Jhohan Romana, and Julio Cascante started alongside one another in the heart of ATX’s defense for the first time this season. Aedan Stanley, with 5 MLS appearances to his name and limited minutes largely off the bench, started at left-back. Speaking of limited minutes, Sebastian Berhalter lined up alongside Dani Pereira in midfield; the former having also been largely deployed off the bench so far this season, the latter playing only his second game since returning from a lengthy injury.
Rounding out the cavalry, Manny Perez at the number nine spot. Perez had shown flashes of ability entering games late on when his pace troubled tiring defenders. His ability to lead the line remained in question. Perez was largely anonymous when playing that role during the flat defeat away in Minnesota. Against Colorado more recently, he did a reasonable job but really playing more as a false nine. Perez hadn’t displayed that clinical eye for goal in the box. Tonight was more of the same.
Austin started familiarly, bossing possession, and countering quickly. FC Dallas spent the first 20 minutes largely spectators in their own stadium. On the 7th minute, a glorious chance fell to Perez. A striker’s poise was required. Perez, in that moment, did not possess it. Instead, he drilled the ball directly at Dallas keeper Jimmy Maurer when he should have bulged the net. Just two minutes later and it was Perez again, his effort sailing harmlessly over the crossbar. On 18 minutes, under pressure from his marker, he whiffed Fagunez’s perfect center. And so it went.
This is not truly a critique of Manny Perez. He’s a pacey, hard-working, honest player. The issue isn’t so much that he doesn’t appear to have the attributes to be a nine; it’s more that Austin FC simply don’t have a natural nine at all available to them right now, or for most of the season so far. Josh Wolff must’ve been looking at the other end of the field with envy where Jesús Ferreira and Ricardo Pepi terrorized the Verde defense.
Austin looked most likely to score from dead-ball situations. A Diego Fagundez freekick drew a wonderful save out of Maurer, before ringing the crossbar with another dead ball effort right before the break. Dallas who by midway through the first half have began to wrest control, opened the scoring on 51 minutes. Poor marking allowed Ryan Hollingshead to arrow a low shot in from the edge of the box. On the 63rd minute the aforementioned Ferreira, as if to twist the knife, showed what Austin have been missing, displaying the clinical instincts of a number 9. The ATX defense were caught ball-watching and Ferreira made no mistake from the middle of the box.
Same, @DiegolFagundez, same. 😅 pic.twitter.com/aW6noaAkB6
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) August 8, 2021
Moments earlier, Wolff had sent on his trio of DP’s – Dominguez, Pochettino, Driussi – in an effort to rescue the match. Despite adding some much-needed zip to the Verde offense, the task provided beyond even them. Driussi at least got his first minutes as an Austin player under his belt and looked classy with it. Wolff wouldn’t have taken much solace from anything else that happened second half. Even with 700 of the traveling Verde faithful at their backs, clear-cut goalscoring opportunities remained at a premium. Austin registered a remarkable and thoroughly depressing 11th scoreless match from 17.
Wolff bemoaned the options available to him tonight, particularly in attack. He spoke about the effectiveness of the formation in the first half, acknowledging its deficiencies in the second half. and he praised the support of the traveling fans, recognizing that the result will have disappointed them in this rival game. What else could he do? He made some questionable choices tonight for a game that many ATX fans would have considered to be the most important of the season so far.
Three Key Takeaways:
Change this, break that: Wolff’s gamble with the formation not only didn’t yield the desired results offensively, it negatively impacted arguably the strongest aspect of the team so far this season: the defense. Both Dallas goals came from poor shape, confusion in the marking, and ball-watching.
If they were fit enough to play… : Supporters were left questioning the logic of not starting the teams’ three DP’s in such an important match. If they were fit enough to come off the bench, why wouldn’t Wolff start them? Why not get up on Dallas early, and then sub in players who can batten down the hatches and defend that lead?
Consistently inconsistent: Whether Austin field a consistent lineup from game to game or make wholesale personnel changes, they continue to be frustratingly inconsistent. A sequence of wins is much needed – not least of all to reignitete their fading play-off hopes.
Last Word: Wolff err’d on the side of caution with not one, but 4 key attacking players (DP’s + Gallagher) in a massive rival match. With Stroud and Manneh not even in the traveling party, offensive options were already limited. You can certainly feel sympathy for the ATX coach, but supporters also have the right to question taking such a significant gamble – and such a overtly defensive approach – with a ‘Copa Tejas’ starting XI.
