At least we got an apology on Wednesday night — and a long, effusive explanation to go with it.
Following Austin FC's deflating 5-0 loss to San Diego FC on Wednesday night — halting a three-match unbeaten streak and dropping the team back to 13th in the West after recent results vaulted them to 10th — head coach Nico Estévez started a lengthy explanation of injuries, scheduling, and a desire to get a home win on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City for a lineup rotation that put his team at an instant disadvantage against an SDFC team eager to break a nine-match winless streak and show they're better than their record indicates.
"We feel ashamed about the result that we got today," Estévez said. "We didn't come here to have that result. We prepare everything to get a better result. We apologize to the fans and and the club and everything everyone that supports Austin, because this is not how we should represent this club."
Estévez then revealed his rationale:
- Guilherme Biro, on four yellow cards, would be in danger of a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation would he have gotten one against San Diego (which, given Biro, seems likely[[1]]);
- Brendan Hines-Ike is sidelined with a hamstring injury for the remaining matches leading up to the World Cup break, presumably to return in July;
- Mikkel Desler, who has been dealing with "discomfort" throughout the season, is currently on a regimen of missing midweek matches to manage that; and
- Owen Wolff (who played limited minutes) and Brandon Vázquez (who, per his Instagram, stayed behind) also weren't options for Estévez, given the club's cautious approach to returning them from lengthy injuries.
Estévez also let us know he had a word with league officials about putting the club in this spot.
