Austin FC, playing its only home match of June, got an early goal from Guilherme Biro, then an Emil Forsberg-engineered Brandon Vázquez own goal, then an actual second-half Vázquez goal, to lead the hosts to a 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.
For the second straight match, Austin notched a sixth-minute goal to open the scoring — this one came in the second phase of a corner kick, with original taker Owen Wolff getting back to the ball once jettisoned out of the six-yard box to put it back in; that led to Biro authoritatively heading it home.
Red Bulls returned with their own goal off the second phase of a corner kick in the 23rd minute, with Brad Stuver punching out a ball that got back to Forsberg outside the 18. Forsberg then put in a ball that might have been more pass than shot, but it pinged off Vázquez and past Stuver to equalize.
Verde managed to create some good opportunities toward the end of the half though they did not deliver well on them (see Worst Verde Moment), and the teams went into halftime tied.
Verde got on the board again about five minutes into the second half for what turned out to be the winning goal, with a long sequence of possession and passing leading to Bukari's deft pass to Vázquez inside the six-yard box, giving him an easy finish to retake the lead.
An offside call took away what looked at first to be a well-worked Owen Wolff goal the 73rd minute to extend the lead further, and Red Bulls still had a chance to spoil the victory in the match's final frames.
Despite several opportunities to do so, including two free kicks just outside the 18 awarded to Forsberg off calls the home fans didn't appear to like, Verde held tough, and even got a chance of their own off the second attempt, which Stuver parried away, leading to a break and a would-be Myrto Uzuni attempt that a hard-charging Jáder Obrian shot toward goal a little too overzealously.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Following the goal, Verde had several long spells of possession showing an aptitude for progressing the ball incrementally and purposefully. While there's still not a true No. 10 on this team, Owen Wolff did have some moments, and at times during the second half, it looked like there was a little 10 in all of them.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
In the 45th minute, Wolff played Bukari into the box, and while Bukari could have shot sooner, he did put in a dangerous ball that Carlos Colonel managed to kick away. There really should have been another shot on goal from that rather than some thwarted attempts, but thwarted attempts from multiple players is what we got. It wasn't all offensive ineptitude in this match, of course, but moments like these make moments like the second Verde goal seem less likely.
One thing you might have missed
If you weren't in the stadium and watching the broadcast, you might have missed the two banners that went up in the supporters' section around the 34th minute expressing views about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – specifically at the 32:52 mark, as an apparent nod to LAFC's 3252 supporters' group, commenting on the current situation in Los Angeles.
The banners stayed up for about eight minutes, and in minute 36, the cameras did catch several seconds of those organically capturing the match action.
One nerdy tidbit
Technically, Red Bulls didn't have a shot on goal in the first half (with the own goal in, but managing six shots total next to Austin's four (two on target).
In fact, the Forsberg free kick that Stuver saved deep in stoppage time was the visitors' only shot on target of the match.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's now two straight wins with two goals each match for Verde, meaning they've gotten more points in two June league matches than in seven May league matches. It also leaves Verde decently above the playoff line heading into the international break.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Verde looked more purposeful in possession in the second half, so wondering if there was halftime instruction that enabled that, or if that was part of the game plan from the start and it just took a while for Austin to get to that level of execution?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
Austin FC, playing its only home match of June, got an early goal from Guilherme Biro, then an Emil Forsberg-engineered Brandon Vázquez own goal, then an actual second-half Vázquez goal, to lead the hosts to a 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.
For the second straight match, Austin notched a sixth-minute goal to open the scoring — this one came in the second phase of a corner kick, with original taker Owen Wolff getting back to the ball once jettisoned out of the six-yard box to put it back in; that led to Biro authoritatively heading it home.
Red Bulls returned with their own goal off the second phase of a corner kick in the 23rd minute, with Brad Stuver punching out a ball that got back to Forsberg outside the 18. Forsberg then put in a ball that might have been more pass than shot, but it pinged off Vázquez and past Stuver to equalize.
Verde managed to create some good opportunities toward the end of the half though they did not deliver well on them (see Worst Verde Moment), and the teams went into halftime tied.
Verde got on the board again about five minutes into the second half for what turned out to be the winning goal, with a long sequence of possession and passing leading to Bukari's deft pass to Vázquez inside the six-yard box, giving him an easy finish to retake the lead.
An offside call took away what looked at first to be a well-worked Owen Wolff goal the 73rd minute to extend the lead further, and Red Bulls still had a chance to spoil the victory in the match's final frames.
Despite several opportunities to do so, including two free kicks just outside the 18 awarded to Forsberg off calls the home fans didn't appear to like, Verde held tough, and even got a chance of their own off the second attempt, which Stuver parried away, leading to a break and a would-be Myrto Uzuni attempt that a hard-charging Jáder Obrian shot toward goal a little too overzealously.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Following the goal, Verde had several long spells of possession showing an aptitude for progressing the ball incrementally and purposefully. While there's still not a true No. 10 on this team, Owen Wolff did have some moments, and at times during the second half, it looked like there was a little 10 in all of them.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
In the 45th minute, Wolff played Bukari into the box, and while Bukari could have shot sooner, he did put in a dangerous ball that Carlos Colonel managed to kick away. There really should have been another shot on goal from that rather than some thwarted attempts, but thwarted attempts from multiple players is what we got. It wasn't all offensive ineptitude in this match, of course, but moments like these make moments like the second Verde goal seem less likely.
One thing you might have missed
If you weren't in the stadium and watching the broadcast, you might have missed the two banners that went up in the supporters' section around the 34th minute expressing views about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – specifically at the 32:52 mark, as an apparent nod to LAFC's 3252 supporters' group, commenting on the current situation in Los Angeles.
The banners stayed up for about eight minutes, and in minute 36, the cameras did catch several seconds of those organically capturing the match action.
One nerdy tidbit
Technically, Red Bulls didn't have a shot on goal in the first half (with the own goal in, but managing six shots total next to Austin's four (two on target).
In fact, the Forsberg free kick that Stuver saved deep in stoppage time was the visitors' only shot on target of the match.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's now two straight wins with two goals each match for Verde, meaning they've gotten more points in two June league matches than in seven May league matches. It also leaves Verde decently above the playoff line heading into the international break.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Verde looked more purposeful in possession in the second half, so wondering if there was halftime instruction that enabled that, or if that was part of the game plan from the start and it just took a while for Austin to get to that level of execution?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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