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Midfielder Alex Ring scored Austin FC’s only goal in what he called an “inexcusable” 5-1 loss to Real Salt Lake at America First Field. (courtesy of Austin FC)
Over the weekend, Austin FC learned exactly how far away it currently is from the top of the class in Major League Soccer. The answer: very far.
Verde and Black were chewed up and spat out by the leaders of the Western Conference The real Salt Lake Saturday night with a 5-1 defeat that instantly joins the conversation for the worst defeats in the club’s history. It was a performance midfielder Alex Ring deemed “unforgivable” and “unworthy to represent this club”.
It was a big, and perhaps necessary, wake-up call for an ATXFC team that had largely punched above its weight during the first half of the MLS season before losing 2-0 at home to the . Portland Timbers 72 hours before the Salt Lake debacle. Now, all the scrapping, clawing and bullet-dodging that allowed Austin FC to collect 23 points in the first 15 games is in danger of being called into question if the club continues to slide down the standings.
A well-timed international break gives the club a full week to rest, recuperate and reassess its final game, but then the pressure immediately mounts with three games in eight days kicking off on June 15, all against title contenders. Western Conference playoffs.
To make things even more challenging, ATXFC will be without two from its Day One, Dani Pereira AND Julio Cascantefor at least four matches while both competing for their respective national teams in Copa America. (Incidentally, both are scheduled for group stage matches at Q2 Stadium on June 30 and July 2, respectively.)
Suffice it to say, the immediate future looks bleak for El Tree.
However, there is growing reason for excitement and optimism in the more distant future as the club continue to shore up major roster moves for the upcoming mid-season transfer window.
Austin FC last week made official the club record signing of DP winger Osman Bukari for $7 million from Red Star of Belgrade. Bukari brings big-game experience and the kind of game-breaking pace and one-on-one ability the club has been desperately lacking.
Then on Monday, Austin FC announced their second major signing of the summer in the Danish right-back Mikkel Deslerwhich joins a free transfer from FC Toulousea club Desler helped win promotion to Ligue 1 and lift the French Cup.
Both players will not be eligible to play for the club until the transfer window opens on July 18.
While Bukari plans to start on the wing from day one, it’s unclear exactly where Desler will fit among the club’s 2023 All-Star defensive rotation Jon Gallagher usually the top choice on the right. Gallagher’s versatility and positional flexibility is well documented, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Irishman deployed elsewhere in Josh WolffHis formation as soon as Desler arrives.
It remains to be seen if the sporting director Rodolfo Borrell has any other moves up his sleeve for the summer, or if his ongoing quest to reshape Verde’s roster will resume in the offseason. But if recent results have told us anything, it’s that Rodo still has a lot of work to do to bring Austin FC into the same class as the league’s best.
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