Jayden Nelson and Myrto Uzuni gave Austin FC a first-half lead, and Verde was able to see out just its third shutout (and second shutout win) of the season.
In a match many Austin FC faithful characterized as a "must-win," Jayden Nelson and Myrto Uzuni got crowd-pleasing first half goals, leading to an 2-0 win at Q2 Stadium over Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday night.
Austin FC started with a loaded lineup, getting Myrto Uzuni, Christian Ramirez, Facundo Torres, and Jayden Nelson all in the starting lineup, though Owen Wolff was still not recovered enough to get into the matchday 20.
Verde got on the board first, with a beautiful 13th-minute goal touching all four of the aforementioned attackers, with Nelson finishing deftly picking out the far post after being loosely guarded by Felipe Andrade, who took cleats to the face in the most recent midweek match.
Verde had a chance to double the lead in the 18th minute, with Torres getting a diagonal cross into Uzuni, who got a solid head to the pass, albeit widely. Four minutes later, Nelson got in a sizzling pass to Uzuni – again in a good spot in the box — that he was a touch too late to for a dangerous redirection.
Five minutes later, Uzuni received a ball in the same general zone, and got a pass to Ramirez, charging along the right flank, who then got off a shot Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was able to parry away.
Uzuni then had an amazing near-goal — twice — in the 35th minute that we'll call our best Verde moment that wasn't a goal. (See below.)
Nelson turned up with a non-contact injury, possibly a hamstring, in the 38th minute, leading to him going out, with face hidden in jersey for extra "not good" energy, replaced by Jon Gallagher.
An Artur yellow card foul on Torres outside the box in first-half stoppage time led to a free kick where Verde tried a cheeky play that worked. Joseph Rosales sent a short backheel pass to Uzuni, who walloped a shot through the Dynamo's wall to make it 2-0.
The Dynamo engineered one of its best chances of the night in the 56th minute, with Guilherme getting a free kick from a Guilherme Biro foul on Mateusz Bogusz, but putting his attempt to Stuver's left only resulted in a Stuver diving save and an appreciative "Stuuuuu" ringing around the stadium.
Ramirez looked for a call in the 62nd minute, getting pushed down in the box (but had it been called, likely would have been a free kick at the edge of the box) by Erik Sviatchenko — who also got away with an elbow to the neck/forearm to the face of Torres minutes earlier.
Ben Olsen was first to his second-half subs, notably getting Jack McGlynn on. Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez went to CJ Fodrey and Nico Dubersarsky in the 65th minute, and Fodrey nearly got in a 73rd-minute header to further pad the lead.
Looking to close out the match, Estévez opted to pull Torres and Biro for Besard Šabović and Jon Bell in the 84th minute.
Stuver pulled a rabbit-out-of-hat save in the 87th, tipping a high and fast Guilherme shot over the bar, to preserve the shutout.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Seeing Uzuni get out of being trapped in the corner by a defender, getting free to take a shot that hit the post, and then collecting the rebound and putting in another far shot that just went wide, was terrific to see. Him not collapsing into self-depricating bad body language (and merely annoyed and determined body language) after the attempts was even better.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Nelson's continued fragility, with a crucial part of the season and the World Cup roster decision for Canada coming up, is concerning.
One thing you might have missed
You really need to go back and watch the Apple TV replay of the goal, and a different angle they proffered, to fully understand the (set piece coach) genius.
One nerdy tidbit
After dominating possession early in the match, Austin actually ended the match just south of 50%.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
The 10th game of the season is late to be getting a second win of the season, but it's a welcome win, in a performance in which Verde looked convincing. (And they didn't give up a late goal, as has been their custom.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Where has this team been all season? (Seriously, though, want to ask about Verde being able to go post to wire without Houston scoring.)
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Copa Tejas is upon us! To help herald it in, we talk to one of our favorite folks covering the Dynamo to get perspective on this Walmart Saturday Showdown.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez saw Wednesday night's contest as two different matches. Brad Stuver saw it as a frustrating match in which his 11 saves didn't matter.
Austin FC got out to an early lead against San Jose on Wednesday night. That wouldn't last, leading to Verde's most lopsided loss of the season so far.
In a match many Austin FC faithful characterized as a "must-win," Jayden Nelson and Myrto Uzuni got crowd-pleasing first half goals, leading to an 2-0 win at Q2 Stadium over Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday night.
Austin FC started with a loaded lineup, getting Myrto Uzuni, Christian Ramirez, Facundo Torres, and Jayden Nelson all in the starting lineup, though Owen Wolff was still not recovered enough to get into the matchday 20.
Verde got on the board first, with a beautiful 13th-minute goal touching all four of the aforementioned attackers, with Nelson finishing deftly picking out the far post after being loosely guarded by Felipe Andrade, who took cleats to the face in the most recent midweek match.
Verde had a chance to double the lead in the 18th minute, with Torres getting a diagonal cross into Uzuni, who got a solid head to the pass, albeit widely. Four minutes later, Nelson got in a sizzling pass to Uzuni – again in a good spot in the box — that he was a touch too late to for a dangerous redirection.
Five minutes later, Uzuni received a ball in the same general zone, and got a pass to Ramirez, charging along the right flank, who then got off a shot Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond was able to parry away.
Uzuni then had an amazing near-goal — twice — in the 35th minute that we'll call our best Verde moment that wasn't a goal. (See below.)
Nelson turned up with a non-contact injury, possibly a hamstring, in the 38th minute, leading to him going out, with face hidden in jersey for extra "not good" energy, replaced by Jon Gallagher.
An Artur yellow card foul on Torres outside the box in first-half stoppage time led to a free kick where Verde tried a cheeky play that worked. Joseph Rosales sent a short backheel pass to Uzuni, who walloped a shot through the Dynamo's wall to make it 2-0.
The Dynamo engineered one of its best chances of the night in the 56th minute, with Guilherme getting a free kick from a Guilherme Biro foul on Mateusz Bogusz, but putting his attempt to Stuver's left only resulted in a Stuver diving save and an appreciative "Stuuuuu" ringing around the stadium.
Ramirez looked for a call in the 62nd minute, getting pushed down in the box (but had it been called, likely would have been a free kick at the edge of the box) by Erik Sviatchenko — who also got away with an elbow to the neck/forearm to the face of Torres minutes earlier.
Ben Olsen was first to his second-half subs, notably getting Jack McGlynn on. Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez went to CJ Fodrey and Nico Dubersarsky in the 65th minute, and Fodrey nearly got in a 73rd-minute header to further pad the lead.
Looking to close out the match, Estévez opted to pull Torres and Biro for Besard Šabović and Jon Bell in the 84th minute.
Stuver pulled a rabbit-out-of-hat save in the 87th, tipping a high and fast Guilherme shot over the bar, to preserve the shutout.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Seeing Uzuni get out of being trapped in the corner by a defender, getting free to take a shot that hit the post, and then collecting the rebound and putting in another far shot that just went wide, was terrific to see. Him not collapsing into self-depricating bad body language (and merely annoyed and determined body language) after the attempts was even better.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Nelson's continued fragility, with a crucial part of the season and the World Cup roster decision for Canada coming up, is concerning.
One thing you might have missed
You really need to go back and watch the Apple TV replay of the goal, and a different angle they proffered, to fully understand the (set piece coach) genius.
One nerdy tidbit
After dominating possession early in the match, Austin actually ended the match just south of 50%.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
The 10th game of the season is late to be getting a second win of the season, but it's a welcome win, in a performance in which Verde looked convincing. (And they didn't give up a late goal, as has been their custom.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Where has this team been all season? (Seriously, though, want to ask about Verde being able to go post to wire without Houston scoring.)
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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