Austin FC gave up four unanswered goals to lose 1-4 against the LA Galaxy. Through fourteen games, Austin sits in fourth place in the Western Conference, behind LAFC, FC Dallas, and Real Salt Lake.
The first half started with a called foul in the box against Žan Kolmanič in the 3rd minute. A very soft penalty was given to the LA Galaxy. Chicharito’s weak shot was saved by Brad Stuver to keep the match scoreless.
LA looked like the better side early on, enjoying most of the possession and attacking chances. However, none of these chances troubled Stuver too much. Galaxy’s best chance early fell to Julian Araujo. Araujo cut inside of Kolmanič to get his head to a cross but thankfully put his header wide.
The first opportunity for Austin fell to Maxi Urruti in the 18th minute. Urruti found himself in a lot of space on the right side of the penalty area and hit his shot low and hard towards the far corner, forcing Jonathon Bond to make a good save.
Austin grew into the match at that point. Galaxy barely had a touch of the ball in Austin’s half for about 15 minutes. Against the run of play, Chicharito scored a goal after playing the ball off his hand and was therefore rightfully ruled off.
This disallowed goal appeared to wake Los Angeles up. LA controlled play for the final 10 minutes of the first half, resulting in several decent chances the LA could not take advantage of.
Urruti forced another good save from Bond in the 45th minute. Urruti again found some space in the penalty area and probably should have done better with the shot. A relatively paltry first half ended at 0-0.
LA started the second half hot. In the opening five minutes, LA forced Julio Cascante to make a last-ditch clearance on an excellent cross, as well as saves from Stuver on shots from Samuel Grandsir and Rayan Raveloson.
Austin fought back and found the breakthrough in the 53rd minute. Owen Wolff made a sliding tackle to win the ball back in LA’s penalty area, stood up and found Diego Fagúndez near the penalty spot. Fagúndez hesitated allowing Alex Ring to make a dummy run to his left, but instead toe-poked the ball into the back of the net. Austin 1-0 LA Galaxy.
Just eight minutes later, LA hit back. Dejan Joveljić flicked on a cross that found a wide-open Chicharito at the penalty spot. Chicharito could not miss his first time shot from there. Austin 1-1 LA Galaxy.
LA was not finished there. Kevin Cabral found space down the left wing and sent a low driven cross across the six-yard box. Kolmanič got to this ball first, but his poor clearance hit Joveljić in the chest. Joveljić put the ball into the empty net, LA’s second goal in three minutes. Austin 1-2 LA Galaxy.
Austin attempted to work their way back into the match, but LA sat deep and defended well. Austin’s play was less than sharp, and LA made us pay for that sloppiness.
First, Jon Gallagher misplayed a pass in Austin’s own half. This turnover worked its way to Joveljić who chipped his shot over Cascante and Stuver for LA’s third.
Another turnover was intercepted by Joveljić who then overhead kicked the ball to a wide-open Efrain Alvarez. Alvarez buried his 1-on-1 with Stuver, LA’s second goal in just two minutes.
Final Score: Austin FC 1, LA Galaxy 4.
Next up is the international break. Austin FC will travel north of the border to take on the CF Montreal on Saturday, June 18th. The Montreal Impact are currently in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with 23 points through 14 matches.
Three Takeaways
Joveljić Goes Off
Dejan Joveljić had quite the match. He came on in the 57th minute and torched Austin every minute he was on the field. Two goals and two assists made that evident. Sofascore gave him a 9.6, the highest score I can remember against Austin.
Sloppiness Away From Home
Austin was sloppy on the road again tonight. Even in the first half when ATX looked good, they were not as clinical as they should be. Urruti should have scored at least once in the first half. That was not the only problem, however. Our passing in and around LA’s penalty area left a lot to be desired and was not particularly dangerous. We should have put them under way more pressure than we did. Going into the half scoreless was a bad omen, one we would live out in the second half.
This Weekend [Was the Worst]
As an Austin FC and Liverpool fan, I can certainly say this weekend will be one I try to forget immediately. Austin now has three weeks to move on from this poor display. That was not a fun way to end any match, but all losses count the same in the end. Time to move on and regroup for the summer run.
Goal Scoring Summary – Austin FC
- 53’ – Diego Fagúndez (Owen Wolff)
Goal Scoring Summary – LA Galaxy
- 61’ – Javier Hernandez (Dejan Joveljić)
- 64’ – Dejan Joveljić (unassisted)
- 88’ – Dejan Joveljić (Efrain Alvarez)
- 90’ – Efrain Alvarez (Dejan Joveljić)
(Cover Photo Credit: Austin FC Instagram)
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