The Thursday Three: Assessing a playoff performance leaving Austin FC 90 minutes from elimination

Partway through his post-match press conference following a 2-1 loss to LAFC on Wednesday night, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez gave the distinct impression he'd heard about his limit of questions and observations about LAFC standouts Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga.

"We're playing away against the super LAFC," he said. "We have to expect that they are going to have more shots than us ... They have Son and Bouanga ... everyone in the whole week is asking me about these two superstars. And then it is normal that they are good. And we have to understand that they're good players, and it's very difficult."

But he then observed, despite the 18-6 shot advantage for the hosts, belying Austin FC's possession advantage, "We reduced this team [to] five shots on goal, and their two goals are coming from deflections, and it's like we need to understand that it is normal. We're coming here. LAFC wants to win the game. Also, what we did in our home is very weird, that for LAFC, we didn't let them [have] anything there."

He then pivoted to what Austin FC can do better when the teams return to Q2 Stadium on Sunday when it's Verde's turn to host — which will result in either a deciding third match in Los Angeles or the end of the team's second-best season.

"We need to expect that what we can be better as a team is in the first half, how we can create more chances, because we have really good control, really good long positions," he said. "We draw them, we're moving. We were moving them side to side, but we lacked on verticality."

Despite that, Estévez observed, "It's the first leg."

Containing the stars

While technically Son and Bouanga didn't score, the duo combined for dangerous moments, including the sequence leading to the Nathan Ordaz tap-in, standing as the eventual match-winner, in the 79th minute.

Still, they didn't end up on the scoresheet.

"We reduced their ability to create scoring opportunities really well," Estévez said. "It is normal that they're going to create one or two per game, for sure. I think we were unlucky that the second goal, it got deflected, and then Brad [Stuver] couldn't do anything there. But I think is this the first time we play against them, when they are playing ... I think they didn't feel comfortable in the whole game. I think they weren't happy about how the game was going. And we can learn and then try to do better in the next game."

Jon Gallagher, who scored Austin FC's lone goal in a "moment of chaos" Estévez wants to see more of on Sunday, was part of Verde's containment unit.

"It's a tough one to swallow tonight," he observed. "Obviously, we're in the game. They have a couple of decent looks, but nothing too serious. Brad wasn't too busy, apart from maybe the set piece where he makes a stop that Brad's been making all year. So again, we kept them at bay, especially with their two special players up top.

"But you know, it's unfortunate," he continued. "Maybe it's game management, I'm not sure, but conceding in the late 70-whatever minute was a sucker punch. And you know, they're really good in their low block defending. So that made it tough for us. But yeah, we'll hopefully bring a good energy and a good spirit[ed] fight on Sunday, and hope to see us back here next weekend."

If at first you don't succeed ...

Estévez indicated reviewing this loss, after they return from an overnight stay in Southern California today, will help them accomplish that.

"We're a team that learns a lot from these type of games," he said. "I think we get better when we play against teams. We learn a lot about what we can do. We go more into detail, and we just have to recover well, see that everyone is healthy and ready to go and learn from this, and work [during] the couple [of] days that we have in order that we can celebrate with our fans a win."

Gallagher felt Verde showed enough in this match to indicate they could indeed win the next two.

"For large portions of the game, we controlled possession. I thought Owen [Wolff] and Dani [Pereira] did a fantastic job on the ball. Ilie [Sánchez] switching fields, getting into our fullbacks, getting in crossing positions, and just trying to be a little bit better in around the box to create more chances. As I said, they do a good job in there, and we kind of had to wear them down. But I think, you know, we're well and truly still in this tie. We knew it was going to be tough coming here, but at the same time, we beat them twice this year, and it sets it up nicely for a good match on Sunday."

The team heeded halftime instruction to get more attackers into the box, with Gallagher pointing out, "The first half was a bit of a stalemate for us. But at the same time, they didn't create a whole lot," with the opening goal coming from a Ryan Hollingshead ball into the danger zone that found Brendan Hines-Ike's foot.

"You saw [Guilherme] Biro was finding himself getting in there," Gallagher said of the second-half adjustment. "Owen was arriving a little bit better. The front three of myself, Myrto [Uzuni], and [Osman] Buka[ri], we have to be in there just to create some sort of numerical advantage to make it difficult for them."

Verde wasn't alone in dropping the first match of their best-of-three series. Of the eight away teams playing in the perhaps-needlessly-expanded format (though it's a format that keeps Verde alive), only NYCFC mustered a 1-0 win playing away from their baseball-first home stadia.

All four West matches went to the hosts, though it took Minnesota PKs to do it, and Austin came closer than either Portland or Dallas, who lost their openers by a combined 5-1 scoreline and look less likely than Austin to get to a third match.

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