AUSTIN, Texas — Austin FC kicked off its 13th match of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season on Wednesday, July 7, against LAFC at 8 p.m. in Q2 Stadium.
FINAL: Austin FC 0, LAFC 2
Austin FC came out firing in its fourth home match of the club's inaugural MLS season, getting multiple shots on goal in the first half. The verde and black controlled the possession for the match, 59% to 41%. Austin FC had more offensive success in the first half than the second. Three of the four shots on goal came in the first half for Austin FC.
Ultimately, the offensive prowess of LAFC shone through. Carlos Vela scored the first goal, but it was disallowed after VAR revealed a foul in the build up of the play. José Cifuentes broke the deadlock and 2020 Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi scored the second goal on an assist from 2019 MVP and Golden Boot winner Carlos Vela.
"You saw it tonight, what [Rossi and Vela] are capable of," Matt Besler said of Vela and Rossi's effect on the offense. "It's almost a blueprint for them. Like I said, [LAFC] is a good pressing team. They make it tough in the middle. When they turn the ball over, Rossi and Vela are just waiting up top ... very intelligent players. Unbelievable quality. They both took their chances tonight and that was the difference."
Daniel Pereira left the match in the 34th minute and that's when the tide seemed to turn.
"It was disappointing to lose [Pereira], and hopefully it's not for too long," Wolff said. "It's tough ... and tough for him, as well."
Next up, Austin FC will play an international friendly against Club Tigres over the weekend, and then the club will host Seattle Sounders FC in its next MLS match on July 22.
Final Stats
Score: Austin FC 0, LAFC 2
Possession: Austin FC 59%, LAFC 41%
Shots (on goal): Austin FC 13(4), LAFC 12(6)
Fouls: Austin FC 7, LAFC 9
Yellow Cards: Austin FC 3, LAFC 2
Red Cards: Austin FC 0, LAFC 0
Offsides: Austin FC 2, LAFC 3
Corner kicks: Austin FC 8, LAFC 3
Saves: Austin FC 4, LAFC 4
PHOTOS: Austin FC vs. LAFC
Second half
89': Diego Rossi (Los Angeles Football Club) right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner.
67': Austin FC subs: Rodney Redes and Manny Perez replace Jared Stroud and Kekuta Manneh.
46': Second half begins.
Halftime Stats
Score: Austin FC 0, LAFC 1
Possession: Austin FC 62%, LAFC 38%
Shots (on goal): Austin FC 9(3), LAFC 10(5)
Fouls: Austin FC 3, LAFC 3
Yellow Cards: Austin FC 3, LAFC 0
Red Cards: Austin FC 0, LAFC 0
Offsides: Austin FC 1, LAFC 2
Corner kicks: Austin FC 6, LAFC 2
Saves: Austin FC 4, LAFC 3
First half
38': José Cifuentes (Los Angeles Football Club) right-footed shot from the center of the box.
36': Julio Cascante (Austin FC) is shown the yellow card.
34': Austin FC sub: Sebastian Berhalter replaces Daniel Pereira. Pereira went down with an apparent groin injury.
24': Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club) left footed shot from the center of the box scores, but the goal was disallowed after review of a foul before the shot.
19': Kekuta Manneh (Austin FC) left-footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
12': Héctor Jiménez (Austin FC) right-footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
10': Diego Rossi (Los Angeles Football Club) header from the center of the box is saved in the center of the goal.
9': Cecilio Domínguez (Austin FC) left-footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
3': Daniel Pereira is given a yellow card.
Pregame
Austin FC announces its starting lineup: Kekuta Manneh starts up top in place for Jon Gallagher, who injured his foot in the last match against the Portland Timbers.
How to watch
- AustinFC.com and the Austin FC & Q2 Stadium app (click here for availability)
- iOS: http://austinisverde.co/ios.
- Android: http://austinisverde.co/android.
- Note: iOS devices can cast the livestream to Apple TV, and Android to Chromecast.
How to listen
- ALT 97.5 FM (radio)
- Spanish: TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB)
Where to watch: Austin FC Pub Club
Preview
Austin FC and LAFC met in the first match of the season, where the Verde and Black fell 2-0 back in April in Los Angeles.
Now, it's Austin's turn to play host.
Austin FC enters the matchup riding the high of an emotional first home win after scoring the club's first goal in Q2 Stadium, which was followed by three others, en route to a 4-1 victory over the Portland Timbers.
LAFC comes to Austin as victors of two of their last three matches, including a 1-0 road win against Real Salt Lake on July 3. LAFC are slated fifth in the Western Conference with 15 points and a 4-4-3 record (win-loss-draw).
In the first match, LAFC tested Austin moments after the opening whistle. Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver was forced to make a diving save 30 seconds into the inaugural match, which was the start to what's been a highlight-reel season thus far for Stuver. LAFC star Carlos Vela also went down and was subbed for early on in the match, and the club was already missing another one of its stars, Diego Rossi, due to injury. Both Rossi and Vela will likely start this time around against Austin. So far this season, Vela has scored only one goal in eight games played, and Rossi has scored three goals in nine games played.
This Austin FC club is not the same one LAFC played in Los Angeles back in April by any stretch. Ben Sweat, Jhohan Romana, Danny Hoesen and Nick Lima all started in that season opener and are battling injuries. The other starters from that match were Stuver, Matt Besler, Daniel Pereira, Rodney Redes, Cecilio Dominguez, Alex Ring and Tomas Pochettino.
Redes has come off the bench in the majority of the games played this season, starting only two other times aside from the LAFC match. From that list, only Stuver, Besler, Pereira, Dominguez, Ring and Pochettino have started in the past two weeks. Basically half of Austin FC's starting lineup is projected to be different than the one that took to the pitch in April.
Wednesday's match provides an opportunity for Austin FC to not only avenge their season opener loss, but gain some ground in the Western Conference playoff race. Austin FC sits in the No. 10 spot in the conference with 13 points. Only the top seven teams from each conference make the MLS Cup playoffs.
For the latest Austin FC news, visit kvue.com/austinfc. To get the latest Austin FC news straight to your phone, text "SOCCER" to 512-459-9442.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: