> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://verdeallday.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # At the Whistle: Austin FC 1, Real Salt Lake 2 - URL: https://verdeallday.com/match-recap-atxvrsl-102826/ - Published: 2026-10-29T02:38:59.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-29T02:38:59.000Z - Description: Austin FC got an early lead that looked as if may extend its 2026 season, but two goals ceded within five minutes led to a loss that took the team out of playoff contention two matches before Decision Day. - Author: Phil West - Tags: 2026 season, austin fc, match recap, table math Put an "e" next to Austin FC's name in the standings. With Wednesday night's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC is officially out of the 2026 postseason picture — and must win its final two matches to reach the 40-point plateau for what's become an ultimately frustrating season for fans. Jorge Alastuey scored the match's opener after more than 50 tense scoreless minutes, but RSL was able to equalize and then take the lead on Saba Lobjanidze and Morgan Guilavogui goals five minutes apart — scoring just three minutes after Verde took the lead. Interim head coach Davy Arnaud rolled out a surprisingly similar lineup to the squad that won in Kansas last Saturday night, with Damian Las resuming his role as starting goalkeeper, and Ilie Sánchez plopped between Guilherme Biro and Mikkel Desler in the three center back formation that's marked the Arnaud Era almost as distinctively as inverted wingbacks. Besard Šabović was the only starter switched out from the prior lineup, as Ervin Torres was injured in the SKC match and had to sub out (for Šabović) before halftime. Myrto Uzuni started out on fire, with four shots — three of them on goal, and a close attempt that went wide – in the first seven minutes. Despite being even in possession early in the match, the bulk of the threat came from Verde. Jon Gallagher got in on the action in the 20th minute, heading a cross wide of goal after getting in a dangerous spot to meet a cross. RSL got its first big chance in the 30th minute, with Sergi Solans hitting a shot that skittered along the ground went slightly wide of both Las' outstretched fingers and the far post. Morgan Guilavogui then hit a shot in the 34th minute that Las saved, setting up a corner kick that was snuffed out, ending that threat. More danger came from the visitors as the first half continued, including a 40th-minute Saba Lobjanidze would-be goal waved off for offside. But neither team could score before the halftime whistle, despite Biro's late-in-the-half efforts. (See "One thing you might have missed.") In the 52nd minute, the opening goal finally came, with Torres trying to get a cross into Vázquez, which instead found the head of an RSL defender, but that ball made it out just beyond the 18 to Alastuey, who hammered it in. The good feelings were short-lived, as in the 55th, Lobjanidze posted up on Šabović with time and space on the ball and hit a shot to the far upper corner that Las had no chance to repel, evening the score back up. Then, after some more danger (see "Worst Verde moment that wasn't a goal"), Sergi Solans got into dangerous space in front of goal after evading a trailing Ilie, and Las decided to come out to try to thwart Solans, but was partially blocked by Desler moving right in front of him. Solans dished off to a late-arriving Guilavogui, who was upended by a diving Las but was still able to give his team the lead before having a lie-down in front of goal. He would, after some uncertainty, stay in the game. Arnaud made subs after that, getting Przemysław Płacheta in for Desler and Brendan Hines-Ike in for Joseph Rosales, though it was clearly Płacheta taking Rosales' wide position on the field. Then, around the 70-minute mark, Arnaud made a sub to get more offense on the field, bringing in Christian Ramírez for Šabović. Within a minute, Verde engineered what appeared to be a handball on RSL's Kobi Henry, prompting the referee to go to VAR, ultimately determining there was no foul and no lifeline forthcoming — despite it looking suspiciously similar to a handball assigned to Torres that negated his would-be goal earlier in the year. Shortly after, Žan Kolmanič spelled Gallagher for Verde's final sub of the match, and in the same minute, Uzuni had another attempt on goal repelled by Rafael Cabral. Vázquez had an opportunity for an 83rd-minute header at point blank range but couldn't quite get the right direction on it. Las, meanwhile, kept his team in it with a timely 88th-minute save on a Ariath Piol shot that could have erased all remaining hope. Płacheta tried his luck in front of goal as regular time ended and nine minutes of stoppage time began, but was no luckier than teammates on the field longer than him. Ninety second later, Vázquez headed a potential equalizer, on a cross from Torres, just wide of goal. Aside from one Płacheta shot, that's all Verde could muster to try to equalize, let alone get the season-extending win. ## Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal) Uzuni's opening seven minute highlight reel was so promising, and showed the intensity he brought to the game. ## Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed) Immediately after giving up the equalizer, Verde's defense allowed two more shots that next minute when RSL worked the ball back into Austin's final third. There's just been too much goal begets another goal this season, and indeed, a second goal came five minutes later. ## One thing you might have missed Toward the end of the first half, Biro decided he was a midfielder and then a forward, progressing the ball 50 yards upfield, ending up in the net at the back of RSL's goal, just hanging out there for a bit, and then positioning himself in the goalmouth for a subsequent corner kick. Biro is a joyous roulette wheel of soccer possibilities. Maybe he makes a goal-saving header or a decisive stop. Maybe he gets a pointless yellow card. Maybe he decides he must be free to run toward goal regardless of his defensive duties. I have no idea what Biro becomes under Jim Curtin's tutelage, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying this version of Biro so much. ## One nerdy tidbit Per Futi, Austin was losing the field tilt battle (passes in the final third) 74% to 26% at halftime despite the early dominance. ## Where this fits into the season's narrative It took until the 32nd match of the season for it to be official, but Verde is now eliminated from the playoffs. While this was set in motion by the team's springtime swoon and the head coach and sporting director upheaval that followed, Arnaud kept the season interesting in what we might see retrospectively as the first phase of a Jim Curtin and Khaled El-Ahmad-engineered rebuild. ## A question we have heading into the press conference What we thought might be a one-match experiment against the probable Wooden Spoon winner was carried over into this do-or-die match, with Las returning in goal and Ilie resuming as central center back. Certainly we're asking about that. *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!](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emergency-podcast-an-austin-fc-podcast/id1742052077?ref=verdeallday.com) (an Austin FC Podcast) *wherever you get your podcasts, and join us on* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/verdealldayhq/?ref=verdeallday.com) *to get updates on all our stories and podcast releases.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/07/Verde-All-Day-Newsletter-Banner-Ad-2.png)