Four Goals!  Four is what it’s going to take to make it to the next round.  Coach Wolff said in tonight’s presser that he thinks it’s possible.

Why?

Probably because he thinks that having our best defenders on the pitch, our captain back in the roster, and the hot wind of our supporters chants at our backs will flip the script 7 days from now.

I really hope he’s right!

Especially after what I heard from the Violette coach tonight.  I asked him if the rumors are true—if some of their players haven’t received permission to travel from the U.S. government. It turns out he’s still holding out hope that he’ll be able to bring his full squad to Q2 Stadium.

Violette AC is appealing the initial denial of visas at the Haitian U.S. consulate and the Dominican U.S. consulate, and they’re even appealing to the leaders of CONCACAF to make something happen.  He believes it would be in injustice if they can’t use their full contingent for all 180 minutes.

If the U.S. government yields, their full-strength squad showed us tonight that they are formidable.

Did Coach Wolff underestimate them tonight? Maybe.

I asked Coach Wolff if the reason for tonight’s disastrous result was due to a lack of captain-level leadership. He didn’t think so. He felt like there was enough leadership on the pitch with guys like Brad Stuver, and enough CCL experience with guys like Will Bruin and Maxi Urruti, that Austin should have gotten a better result.

Austin FC Doesn’t Have a Chance of Advancing

Unless…

The players dig A LOT deeper. Rony Attimy, Violette’s head coach, put us on notice when he said that his players believe their role—in light of the current turmoil in Haiti—are essentially fighting to give hope to an entire nation.  I think it’s safe to say that they’re going to leave it all on the field come next Tuesday.

And Unless…

Q2 possesses more Verde magic than we’ve ever seen before.  

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At this point, this feels like a battle straight out of a Mel Gibson movie—where the mercenaries can’t overcome warriors fighting to free their homeland. The fans will need to come out in force and pack the stadium like always. Hopefully, the players see the Verde faithful’s “hunger for glory,” as Driussi calls it, and it gives them inspiration on March 14.

They’re going to have to fight like hell in order to overcome this adversary.

Otherwise, this Haitian squad is going to give Austin FC a humbling (if not humiliating) lesson on the world’s stage.

In that case, the only victory for ATX from the whole debacle would be if they signed Violette’s striker, Miche-Naider Chery.  That guy was a menace tonight. I really wish/hope he was (and will be) wearing a green kit.

Nevertheless, my CCL fever will have me screaming my guts out next Tuesday night, hoping that tonight’s spanking will be transformed into the canvas for Coach Wolff’s greatest masterpiece yet.

Photos courtesy of Fox Sports

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