Conceding a goal two minutes into a game means that a team has 88 minutes of regulation, plus added minutes, to turn the game around.
The Verde and Black faithful had high hopes after their team went 0-1 down in the opening minutes of a Saturday matchup against FC Dallas. However, the intensity for such a comeback was missing at the start of the second half, and Austin FC paid the price in its 2-0 loss.
In the 49th minute, Dallas goalkeeper Jacob Jackson punted a ball from his own box and found forward Bernard Kamungo on the other side of the pitch. With Austin defenders chasing the player down, the long ball left Kamungo in a one-versus-one with goalkeeper Brad Stuver, slotting it into the back of the net.
“It was really important for us not to concede that second goal because we knew that just with the 0-1, if we scored a goal, it could change the game,” head coach Nico Estévez said.
That second Dallas goal sealed the win, leaving Austin empty-handed in an away trip to its rivals’ home. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak and is only their third loss since the start of June.
This season, there has only been one instance where Austin won two games in a row in the MLS and extended the streak to three. The other three times it happened, including this weekend, Austin lost or tied the next game.
“When we get two wins in a row that we’ve done a couple times this season, after we get relaxed,” Estévez said. “We feel like we can step on the field and things are going to happen. I think Dallas was better than us on that energy, that willingness and we were just waiting.”
A bright side for the Verde and Black, though, is the obvious rotation that was implemented into the squad ahead of the game. With two games next week, Estévez made changes to the lineup to compensate for the heavy fitness load.
“This is why we did some rotations. This is why we didn’t bring (defender) Mikkel Desler. He will be fine for the next game. We needed to manage his fatigue,” Estévez said. “We are just recovering players. At the end of the season it is very important how you manage that control of minutes of the players.”
Moving to the sixth seed last weekend after a win in Kansas City, the loss has moved Austin down a spot into seventh. Having played one less game, Austin is now only two points ahead of Colorado and six in front of San Jose, the teams that occupy the eighth and ninth seeds. If Austin FC drops into those spots, the team will play a single-elimination wild-card match.
Austin FC will now shift its focus to a U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Minnesota United on Wednesday. Then, the Verde and Black will return to MLS play on Sunday for a matchup with the Seattle Sounders at home.
“It was a poor performance tonight and guys are aware of that, but we don’t want to dwell on it because we realize what a big week ahead we have,” defender Jon Gallagher said.
