KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Austin FC kicked off its fourth match of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season Sunday against Sporting Kansas City.
Final: Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 2
Austin FC started fast with a goal in the sixth minute by Jon Gallagher, who was making his first start for the club.
"I think we had some ideas on what we thought we could exploit vs. Kansas City and I think it was really clear that it was working exactly how we planned on it ... Jon deserved the opportunity," Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said. "He's been playing well, he could have three or four goals already so [I'm] really excited for him to get on the board."
Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver also had a standout first half, making four saves, including a highlight reel diving save on Gianluca Busio in the 17th minute and a kick save on Daniel Salloi in the 32nd minute.
Austin FC's lead was broken in the second half on a corner kick headed in by Ilie Sánchez in the 81st minute. Austin FC had been playing with 10 men after Alex Ring was booked with his second yellow card in the 67th minute, disqualifying him from the game.
Wolff said the red card changed everything. Wolff said the club had not worked on playing with 10 men yet, being such a new team.
"No excuses, we'll work on that for next time," Wolff said.
Sporting KC's comeback was completed a few minutes later when Gadi Kinda headed the ball from very close range.
"I think we take the things that we did good from this game and the things we did well in the first three [matches] and we [look at] all that optimistically," Austin FC defender Nick Lima said. "We're a good team. I think Kansas City got fortunate got to [play against] 10 men. I feel like we could have won."
You can watch the full highlights of the match here. Austin FC will take on the LA Galaxy on Saturday, May 15.
STATS:
- Shots (on goal): Austin FC – 11(6); Sporting KC – 25 (8)
- Saves: Austin FC – 6; Sporting KC – 5
- Corner Kicks: Austin FC – 3; Sporting KC – 14
- Yellow cards: Austin FC – 2; Sporting KC – 2
- Red cards: Austin FC – 1; Sporting KC – 0
- Fouls: Austin FC – 10; Sporting KC – 7
Major League Soccer standings are ranked like the following: teams get three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the event of a tie in the standings, the tiebreaker goes to:
- Total number of wins
- Goal differential (goals scored/for minus goals against)
- Goals For (the amount of goals scored by team)
- Fewest Disciplinary Points* (calculated: Foul - 1 Point, Technical Area Warning - 2 Points, Yellow Card - 3 Points, 2nd Yellow Card - 7 Points, Straight Red Card - 7 Points, Coach Dismissal - 7 Points, Any Supplemental Discipline - 8 Points)
- Away Goals Differential
- Away Goals For
- Home Goals Differential
- Home Goals For
- Coin Toss (tie of two clubs) or Drawing of Lots (tie of three or more clubs)
Note: Records below are recorded as (win, loss, draw)
Western Conference:
- Seattle Sounders FC – 10 pts, 3-0-1, +8 goal differential
- San Jose Earthquakes – 9 pts, 3-1-0, +5 goal differential
- LA Galaxy – 9 pts, 3-1-0, 0 goal differential
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC – 7 pts, 2-1-1, +2 goal differential
- Sporting Kansas City – 7 pts, 2-1-1, 0 goal differential
- Colorado Rapids – 7 pts, 2-1-1, 0 goal differential
- Real Salt Lake – 6 pts, 2-1-0, +2 goal differential
- Austin FC – 6 pts, 2-2-0, 0 goal differential
- FC Dallas – 5 pts, 1-1-2, +1 goal differential
- Los Angeles FC – 5 pts, 1-1-2, +1 goal differential
- Houston Dynamo FC – 5 pts, 1-1-2, 0 goal differential
- Portland Timbers – 3 pts, 1-3-0, -4 goal differential
- Minnesota United FC – 0 pts, 0-0-4, -7 goal differential
Eastern Conference:
- New York City FC – 7 pts, 2-1-1, +6 goal differential
- New England Revolution – 7 pts, 2-1-1, 0 goal differential
- New York Red Bulls – 6 pts, 2-2-0, +2 goal differential
- Orlando City SC – 6 pts, 1-0-3, +3 goal differential
- Nashville SC – 6 pts, 1-0-3, +2 goal differential
- Columbus Crew – 5 pts, 1-0-2, +2 goal differential
- Atlanta United FC – 5 pts, 1-1-2, +1 goal differential
- CF Montréal – 5 pts, 1-1-2, 0 goal differential
- Inter Miami CF – 4 pts, 1-2-1, 0 goal differential
- Philadelphia Union – 4 pts, 1-2-1, -1 goal differential
- D.C. United – 3 pts, 1-3-0, -5 goal differential
- Toronto FC – 1 pt, 0-2-1, -4 goal differential
- Chicago Fire – 1 pt, 0-3-1, -6 goal differential
- FC Cincinnati – 1 pt, 0-2-1, -8 goal differential
2nd half
Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 2
90'+1: Austin FC corner: Kicked out of bounds for goal kick.
90'+1: Nick Lima shoots and forces a corner.
90'+1: Gadi Kinda scores second goal of the half. Sporting KC up 2-1.
85': Austin FC/Sporting KC sub: Hector Jimenez replaces Tomás Pochettino (Austin FC). Rémi Walter replaces Dániel Sallói (Sporting KC).
81': Sporting KC corner: Ilie Sánchez scores goal on header from very close range to the bottom right corner.
78': Sporting KC corner: Balled played short and shot well high over the goal.
78': Lindsey (Sporting KC) right-footed shot is deflected off a defender for a corner.
76': Sporting KC corner: Fontas' header is just high over the crossbar.
73': Daniel Salloi right-footed shot inside the penalty area was saved one-handed by Brad Stuver.
71': Austin FC subs: Jon Gallagher is replaced by Sebastian Berhalter. Cecilio Dominguez is replaced by Julio Cascante.
67': Alex Ring was given his second yellow card in two matches, which resulted in a red card and Austin FC will play a man down for the rest of the match. It was Ring's first sending off in the past five years of MLS.
62': Austin FC subs: Daniel Pereira replaces Diego Fagundez. Rodney Redes replaces Jared Stroud.
58': Gianluca Busio stole the ball and played it to Daniel Salloi, who shot it wide of the goal.
58': Sporting KC sub: Kaveh Rad replaces Roberto Puncec because of an injury.
56': Ilie Sánchez (Sporting Kansas City) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
55': Sporting KC subs: Jaylin Lindsey replaces Graham Zusi. Gadi Kinda replaces Roger Espinoza.
53': Sporting KC corner: Cleared out by Austin FC.
53': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked
53': Alan Pulido (Sporting Kansas City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
50': Cecilio Domínguez (Austin FC) left-footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
48': Austin FC corner: Cleared by Sporting KC.
48': Jared Stroud (Austin FC) right-footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the center of the goal.
46': Second half kicked off.
Halftime
Austin FC leads 1-0 over Sporting KC at the break courtesy of Jon Gallagher's first Austin FC goal in his first start. Gallagher has come off of the bench in previous games and provided a spark. He's nearly found the back of the net in previous matches, but his goal drought was broken in the 7'. He received a cross from Jared Stroud on right wing. Stroud has now recorded an assist in three straight games.
Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver has made many crucial saves to keep the clean sheet alive, including a phenomenal one-on-one kick save. Stuver has four saves at halftime.
First half
Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 0
44': Tomás Pochettino (Austin FC) right-footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
41': Jhohan Romaña (Austin FC) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
40': Alan Pulido (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box is high and wide to the left.
38': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box is blocked.
37': Sporting KC corner: Cleared out by Austin FC.
33': Tomás Pochettino fires a right-footed shot from outside of the 18-yard box and hit the crossbar.
31': Brad Stuver saves a breakaway by Sporting KC with his left foot.
30': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
26': Roberto Puncec (Sporting Kansas City) header from the left side of the six-yard box misses to the left.
25': Sporting KC corner: Cleared out by Austin FC.
22': Gianluca Busio header sails over the crossbar.
17': Sporting KC corner cleared out by Austin FC.
17': Gianluca Busio left-footed shot is saved by Brad Stuver out of bounds for a corner.
16': Cecilio Dominguez right-footed shot from outside the penalty area is saved.
14': Alexander Ring (Austin FC) right-footed shot from outside the box is too high following a corner.
11': Austin FC corner: Cleared out by Sporting KC.
9': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box is too high.
7': Austin FC goal – Jared Stroud played a cross from the right wing to Jon Gallagher, which he finished for a goal with his right foot.
4': Roberto Puncec (Sporting Kansas City) with an attempt from the left side of the box is saved.
1': Game is kicked off.
Pregame
Austin FC's starting XI for the match are: Brad Stuver; Nick Lima, Jhohan Romaña, Matt Besler, Žan Kolmanič; Tomás Pochettino, Alex Ring, Diego Fagundez; Jared Stroud, Jon Gallagher, Cecilio Dominguez.
This is the same starting lineup as the previous match against Minnesota United FC, with one change: Gallagher starting in place of Danny Hoesen.
Sporting Kansas City's starting XI: Pulskamp; Fontas, Puncec, Ilie, Russell (C); Zusi, Pulido, Busio; Espinoza, Salloi, Martins.
Here is everything you need to know about the match:
Kickoff time
The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CST Sunday, May 9, at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
How to watch
- AustinFC.com and the Austin FC & Q2 Stadium app (click here for availability)
- iOS: http://austinisverde.co/ios.
- Android: http://austinisverde.co/android.
- Note: iOS devices can cast the livestream to Apple TV, and Android to Chromecast.
- FS1 (national)
How to listen
- ALT 97.5 FM (radio)
- iHeartRadio (online)
Preview
After beating Minnesota United FC 1-0, Austin FC has now won back-to-back games. With the win, Austin FC now has six points on the season and two road wins among an eight-game road stint to start its inaugural season.
The team was originally scheduled to tackle a seven-game road stretch to start the season before the home opener on June 19 against the San Jose Earthquakes. That tough beginning to the season got even tougher as Austin FC announced Tuesday changes to its matches, including moving one of its later road games against Sporting Kansas City from July 17 to June 12, which means they have eight straight road games before the highly-anticipated home opener.
Before Sunday's match, Austin is 2-1-0 and Sporting Kansas City is 1-1-1.
Austin center back Matt Besler will be having a homecoming of sorts, playing against the club he spent 12 seasons with.
Sporting Kansas City had a bounce-back 2020 season, finishing first in the Western Conference. They lost 3-0 at home to Minnesota United in the MLS Cup Playoffs, however. The 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Tim Melia, has not played in a match yet this season due to injury, but he could make his return against Austin this weekend.
For the latest Austin FC news, visit kvue.com/austinfc. For Austin FC news straight to your phone, you can text "SOCCER" to 512-459-9442. You'll be sent a link to the latest game, KVUE's latest VerdeVUE Pod episode and other news.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: