Giveaways Doom Austin FC in “Unlucky” Loss to FC Dallas

Austin FC midfielder Alex Ring plays a pass during the club's 2-1 loss to FC Dallas (credit: Austin FC)

Saturday night in Frisco, Austin FC produced its best road performance of the season, playing with genuine desire and confidence – not to eke out a 0-0 draw, but to actually go and win the match.

The reward for those efforts? A hard luck 2-1 loss.

The Verde and Black came up on the wrong end of FC Dallas’ third win of the season despite dominating possession (63% to 37%), shots (18 to 9), corners (8 to 0) and expected goals (1.9 to 1.2). It was the first time ATXFC had led all of those statistical categories in a road match in 2024.

However, two costly Austin giveaways gifted FC Dallas enough of an opening to take all three points in a pivotal Copa Tejas clash.

The first came just minutes after the opening kickoff when, of all players, Sebastián Driussi played an ill-advised, no-look pass toward his own goal, directly into the path of Dallas’ $10 million man, Petar Musa. Musa took a single touch, then curled a simple finish past Brad Stuver for the 1-0 lead. It was the first goal conceded by Stuver in 306 minutes of game action, dating back to the middle of April.

Musa gives Dallas a dream start. 🔥

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/nVtSDK7Asy // #RivalryWeek by @continentaltire pic.twitter.com/eIQZXWFKeD

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 12, 2024

“[Sebastián] knew right away he made a bad pass. Just like when you make a mistake at your job, [you say] you fucked up, and you just got to move on,” fellow ATX midfielder Dani Periera said. “He's our guy and it doesn't matter what happens, we’re gonna back him up.”

Austin responded extremely well, bossing the rest of the first half and even rattling the post in the 37th minute from a powerful Guilherme Biro shot. However, the club was unable to equalize before the halftime whistle.

Then, in the 56th minute, Dallas punished another Austin giveaway – this time by Jadér Obrian – which allowed a breakaway finished off by Jesús Fereira to double FC Dallas’ lead.

Austin managed to recover one goal in the 84th minute when Dallas defender Emmanuel Twumasi fouled Owen Wolff in the penalty box, leading to Driussi getting on the scoresheet from the ensuing spot kick. El Tree managed one more flurry of chances in stoppage time to try to salvage a draw from the match, but it was not to be.

“We gave this game away. I think both goals are evident of that. Those are silly giveaways on our part,” head coach Josh Wolff said. “We were unlucky to not grab a point at least, but even three points. I think, you know, it's a performance worthy of that.”

Austin FC missed another chance to capture its first-ever win at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, moving to four losses and two draws in that fixture all-time.

Austin FC now faces a quick turnaround to prepare for its first midweek match of the season, as the Houston Dynamo head to Q2 Stadium for another installment of the Copa Tejas rivalry on Wednesday night.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle's Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.