It’s been enough of a struggle for Austin FC with 11 players on the pitch so far this season. Reduced to 10 men for the final 35 minutes Saturday night against FC Dallas, they really never stood a chance.
Chasing their first MLS win in eight games, the Verde and Black instead were forced to fight tooth and nail in the second half for a scoreless draw, before having their armor pierced by an 89th-minute winning goal from U.S. World Cup striker Jesús Ferreira.
Throughout a physical and entertaining first half in which ATXFC earned a slight edge in scoring chances, the table was set for the club to build upon its 2-0 U.S. Open Cup win over New Mexico United at midweek. However, in the first nine minutes of the second half, Rodney Redes committed two reckless, overzealous tackles forcing World Cup veteran and Austin-native referee Ismail Elfath to reach for his red card.
“When you’re on a yellow, you certainly have to be smarter and you can’t run the risk at that point. He knows better than that,” coach Josh Wolff said post-match, conceding that both yellow card decisions were the “correct calls.”
“Obviously, you know, he’ll learn from it, but it put us in a tough spot,” Wolff said.
Not only did the sending-off poor cold water on Redes’ breakout run of form (the “Redes-sance” as it had been dubbed by some), it was also exactly what Austin FC did not need as it fights to get out of the Western Conference scrap heap.
“A lot of these young players, they go through spurts where they just kind of need to learn how to manage their emotions in games and kind of know that you’re on a yellow and don’t put yourself in a situation to make the referee make a decision,” goalkeeper Brad Stuver said. “At the end of the day, [Redes] opened himself up for Ismail to make the decision.”
Despite going down a man, Austin still had sights on a draw as the match entered its late stages. But in the 89th minute, an inch-perfect through ball from Dallas midfielder Tsiki Ntsabeleng connected with a well-timed run from Ferreira, who got in behind the Austin back line and put his shot through Stuver’s legs. Ferreira then proceeded to remove his jersey and display it into the collective face of the ATX supporters’ section as a parting gift to the stadium in which FC Dallas’ season ended in last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs.
“For me it was more of enjoying myself. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful towards the fans or the team,” Ferreira said. “We know how special derbies are… it was just me enjoying the moment and having a little bit of fun.”
Austin FC continues its two-match-per-week stretch with a road test against the Seattle Sounders 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 Twitter: @goodman.
This article appears in May 12 • 2023.
