Austin FC’s season-long themes of being strong on defense and having an offense that’s still a work in progress continued Saturday.
The Verde & Black posted their fourth shutout of the season but also failed to score for the third time this year during a 0-0 draw with the Portland Timbers at Q2 Stadium.
And while Austin FC will be no worse than fourth place in the Western Conference entering next week’s game at Vancouver, which currently leads the West, it’s unrealistic to think its defense can keep up a pace of giving up less than 15 goals for the season. (Conversely, it’s also unlikely its offense will continue to average less than a goal a game.)
Here are some thoughts from the match as Austin FC (4-2-1, 13 points) produced a tie for the first time under new coach Nico Estévez:
Austin FC has one of the best defenses in MLS
Estévez said Saturday that when he takes over a club, he puts an emphasis on defense, which has clearly shown during his brief time in Austin.
The Verde & Black lead the West with only three goals given up, which for a seven-game stretch is impressive for any team in any league at any point.
Austin FC has done little wrong defensively this season, and though both Estévez and goalie Brad Stuver have credited that to an effort from all 11 players on the field, the backline was exceptional again.
Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok and Jon Gallagher kept a dangerous Portland attack that had scored six goals over the last two games in check for almost the entire match. The Timbers ended with an expected goals stat of 0.57 and truly tested Stuver only a few times.
“The defense has mostly been together for over a year, and I think the chemistry is better,” said Stuver, who noted that in Austin FC’s brief history it’s had constant change in personnel on the backline. “I think we’re capitalizing on the chemistry that we made last year and bringing that into this year.”
Estévez’s plan to be stout on defense while the offense figures itself out is a smart one and paying off with where Austin FC is in the standings. But as noted above, the Verde & Black are defending at an unsustainable rate.
Offense not finishing goals
Estévez seemed a bit annoyed at the suggestion the offense had its struggles again.
“While we’re growing, it’s important to note that we didn’t lose and kept our unbeaten streak,” said Estévez, who also mentioned Portland’s impressive history in the league. “You have to respect the opponent. … This looked like a playoff game.”
He’s not wrong — and he deserves massive credit for Austin FC’s impressive start to the season, which includes handing San Diego its only loss — but it's worth pointing out an offense that isn’t producing, especially after the club spent $29 million in transfer fees, according to online publication Give Me Sport, over the last nine months to acquire forwards Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vazquez and Osman Bukari. A slow start for a club with new forwards and a new coach was to be expected, however, five goals through seven games raises an eyebrow or two.
Vazquez and Uzuni both had a few legitimate scoring ...
