There are wins. There are nice wins. Then there are beat-your-opponent-so-bad-that-their-coach-apologizes-to-the-fan-base wins. Austin FC enjoyed one from the third category Saturday night in Atlanta.
“I need to apologize to the fans, I think they don’t deserve this,” Atlanta United coach Gonzalo Pineda said after a 3-0 thrashing by the Verde and Black at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Meanwhile, it was all smiles and shirtless photos in the visiting locker room as Josh Wolff and company capped off a three–game road trip with yet another win, thanks to a sound defensive effort and deadly team attacking.
The Oaks wasted no time snatching the lead on the slick NFL-stadium turf. On the stroke of eight minutes, the ATX midfield combined to force a turnover and free up Ethan Finlay on the right wing. Finlay then found the forehead of his fellow journeyman Felipe Martins with a smooth cross, and Martins guided it calmly into the net.
In two of the last three matches, Austin FC was forced to battle back from being down two goals to nothing. This time, they gave someone else a taste of that treatment. In the 17th minute, a line-breaking pass from Julio Cascante sprung Diego Fagúndez into action. Fagúndez then used the outside of his boot to swing a low cross into the box where Finlay, after assisting on the opening goal, buried the second himself.
The exclamation point came on the counterattack in the 57th minute, when Austin carved up Atlanta’s stretched-out defense to give Maxi Urruti a free shot at goal. The fact that the Argentine striker saw his shot inexplicably bounce off the crossbar was negated by a trailing Sebastián Driussi, who shuttled the rebound into the open net for his 11th goal of the season.
Brad Stuver had four saves to make, which he did, and the return from injury of center back Cascante bolstered the Austin defense to its sixth shutout of the season. The club leads Major League Soccer with seven road wins, including four straight.
“Winning four in a row is never easy in this league,” Wolff said. “It speaks volumes for this group, it really does … Tonight was probably, for me, one of the most telling games I’ve been a part of with this group.”
Austin FC returns home to face the Houston Dynamo at Q2 Stadium in a Copa Tejas clash Tuesday night.
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle‘s Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on Twitter: @goodman.
This article appears in July 8 • 2022.
