Three Austin FC Question with Verde All Day's Phil West
Verde All Day's Phil West shares his insights on Austin FC's slow start, injury concerns, and the tactical threats that could trouble the LA Galaxy on Saturday
The LA Galaxy’s match against Austin FC on Saturday is quite the awkward one. An early 11:30 am kickoff between two middle-of-the-pack teams in the Western Conference. Plus, this game is sandwiched in between the Concacaf Champions Cup series against Toluca.
Nevertheless, the Galaxy needs results in league play. A loss to Minnesota United last week means more pressure is on LA to start climbing up the table and not lagging behind other clubs. It doesn’t help that LA hasn’t won in Austin since the 2022 season.
I asked Phil West of Verde All Day some questions about this Austin FC to gauge where the team is this season, and about players who could cause the LA Galaxy some trouble in this game. His insights provide some details on what kind of game we can see at Q2 Stadium.
If you’re interested in more of my LA Galaxy thoughts, I also answered some of Phil’s questions about the G’s and more thoughts on LA’s chances of getting a result against Toluca on Wednesday.
Alex Ruiz: How’s Austin FC’s season been so far? Is it living up to expectations or somewhat disappointing? What’s giving you hope for this season?
Phil West: It’s been weird! On one hand, they’re playing more expansively overall, and looked positively inspired and electric in their last two matches, which were draws, but draws against LAFC (holding that offense to no goals and being unlucky not to score) and Inter Miami (with Galaxy fan favorite Guilherme Biro hilariously scoring the first goal in the ballyhooed Nu Stadium opening and with Verde going up in the second half before Miami threw millions of dollars of substitute forwards into the match to get the equalizer).
Also, though, they’ve been so injury-plagued in the early part of the season that I’ve christened a group of what should be their starters, including Brandon Vázquez and Owen Wolff, the “Frail Four.” Wolff, who should have stepped in to be Austin’s version of Riqui Puig after making a considerable leap last season, had sports hernia surgery at the start of last season, and hasn’t played yet with a slower-than-expected recovery. (He’s going to miss this one as well.) By May, barring further injuries, we should see Verde at full strength, but it’s certainly affected how things are going so far.
Which is, if you’ve checked the standings, 11th place in the West, getting just one point per match thus far.
Ruiz: The LA Galaxy bogeyman is the low block. LA has struggled to break down teams that sit low defensively and find themselves in a vulnerable position on the counterattack because of that. Is that how Austin FC approaches matches, or can you see both teams being open and wanting to play with the ball? Who is the biggest threat on the counter that could give LA problems?
West: Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez has done well to create game plans that keep his team in games, and I expect that he’ll do the same here. He’s not afraid to situationally shift from a back four to a back five, and though Joseph Rosales is being deployed mostly as a winger, his defensive skills have raised the whole team’s floor, and he can lead counters as well — on Saturday, Verde took the lead when Rosales stripped Lionel Messi of the ball in Miami’s final third, then found Myrto Uzuni (who has been playing more as a connector lately in a two-forward system with a veteran you know named Christian Ramírez who just happened to be available on waivers), who found Jayden Nelson (another great offseason addition giving Verde some needed speed).
Those are players to watch, as is Facundo Torres, who came off with injury at halftime last week and could see some minutes. Though Austin’s largely relied on set pieces this season thus far, counterattacking is something they should do more.
Ruiz: Having watched Austin, what is something that teams have been able to exploit against Verde? As someone with an outside perspective, what “scares” you about the Galaxy ahead of this matchup.
West: I actually just wrote about this: This team is prone to occasional costly defensive lapses, and this season, they’ve been happening late in matches. They’ve given up five goals so far in the final half hour of matches — four of those in the 82nd minute of later — that have turned two wins into draws and two draws into losses.
That’s six points shed in a competitive West, and with those points added back, they’d be in 6th right now instead of 11th. Give them two more points from the RSL loss as one of RSL’s two goals was an own goal, and that’s 14 points, and Austin’s in fourth.
The combination of those late-game lapses and a forward like Joao Klauss is going to make things very nervy for Austin fans if the hosts are clinging to a one-goal lead or a draw late.