Austin FC Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive With Draw vs. LAFC

Austin FC injected some life into its late-season push for the MLS Cup Playoffs with a quality 1-1 draw away against a star-studded LAFC squad.

Solid ATX defending held Olivier Giroud, Denis Bouanga, and the Black and Gold to just six shots on goal and 1.4 expected goals, while the Verde and Black capitalized on a chance late in the first half to take the lead in the match, only to see that lead erased after the hour mark.

For Austin, the match was the first to feature all three of Rodolfo Borrell’s international midseason signings as Osman Bukari, Mikkel Desler, and – for the first time – Oleksandr Svatok were all included in Josh Wolff’s starting XI.

Desler and Bukari were both instrumental in Austin’s opening goal, which came in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. Delser fed Bukari into the attacking third with a nifty pass, which allowed the Ghanaian DP to free from his defender and dribble into the penalty box, where he found Jáder Obrian open in front of goal. Obrian calmly deposited his shot under the left arm of legendary goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to give Austin a surprising halftime lead at BMO Stadium.

Composed finish from Jáder Obrian to put us in front just before the halftime whistle! pic.twitter.com/HWI051717k

— Austin FC (@AustinFC) September 19, 2024

Things turned sour for Austin at the 60 minute mark, when Wolff was forced to reorganize his defense due to an ankle injury to Desler, and Leo Väisänen entered as a third center back. Not even two minutes later, with ATXFC still fighting to get reorganized, LAFC took advantage with pinpoint passing and build-up to equalize by way of David Martínez.

Austin held firm in the final half hour to secure the 1-1 finish and earn a valuable point on the road. But with three points seemingly there for the taking, Verde fans may remember the match for what might have been.

It was a good night for the Verde and Black elsewhere, as FC Dallas and Minnesota United – the other two contenders for the final Western Conference playoff spot – both suffered losses. With five matches to go, Austin now trails Minnesota by four points for ninth place and leads FC Dallas by a point.

Austin FC’s focus now shifts to a virtual must-win match at home against the Houston Dynamo Saturday night, followed by another home match the following Saturday against Real Salt Lake. The ATX players know that any run to the postseason has to start with taking care of business points at home.

“Two wins in a row and you flip this thing. We’ve managed to win consecutive games plenty of times this season. And, you know, another big game at home, two back to back, Houston-RSL, that we'll be looking to try [to] get six points and close that gap,” utility man Jon Gallagher said. “100%, yep, I believe [that we can still make the playoffs].”

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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.