Alex Ring summed up Austin FC’s situation entering the final seven games of the MLS season succinctly.
“It’s kind of do or die,” Ring said Thursday.
Indeed.
As Austin FC (9-11-7, 34 points) comes out of the international break for a critical stretch of three games in eight days, starting with Saturday’s match at Toronto, the Verde & Black’s playoff life hangs in the balance.
Currently in 11th place in the Western Conference and two points out of the ninth and final playoff spot, Austin FC may not be able to play itself into the postseason — this stretch includes a road match at LAFC and home contest against rival Houston — but it can certainly play itself out of it.
First things first, though, and the Verde & Black need to come away with a result north of the border .
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup as the MLS begins its most intense part of the season:
Urgency for quality play
Austin FC needs to regain the form it had during the Leagues Cup.
With wins over Mexican league sides Pumas UNAM and FC Monterrey and a good showing in a loss to LAFC, that stretch in early August was the Verde & Black’s best of the season.
Though it defeated Nashville when it returned to MLS play, Austin FC didn’t carry the momentum over from Leagues Cup. The team’s showing during a 1-0 loss to Vancouver its last time out was simply poor.
“There was strong disappointment after the Vancouver game,” Ring said. “That’s something you can’t afford at any point in the season, but especially now. … We had two weeks to clean some stuff up.”
The good news is that the team is healthy, and Austin FC coach Josh Wolff has plenty of roster options.
Dani Pereira (Venezuela), Julio Cascante (Costa Rica) and Leo Väisänen (Finland) returned to the club the last few days from national-team duty — Pereira just flew back into town Thursday morning — and will be available.
With one of the toughest road contests in the league looming Wednesday at LAFC, it’s crucial the Verde & Black play some of their best soccer sooner than later.
Driussi to stay up top
Wolff hinted it’s likely Sebastián Driussi, the team’s star player, will continue to play at forward, as he has the last three matches, instead of his traditional spot in the midfield.
He was effective there vs. LAFC and Nashville, though like everyone else on the team, didn’t make much of an impact vs. Vancouver.
Ring appreciates what Driussi brings to the forward spot.
“He draws attention, especially from the backline,” Ring said. “That gives us a little more space behind their backline, and we have to exploit that better than we did against Vancouver.”
Position to watch
This is becoming a broken record, but it’s center back.
Matt Hedges will probably start alongside Brendan Hines-Ike as he has the last six games, though Wolff noted that Cascante and recently acquired Oleksandr Svatok would be in the mix for significant minutes.
Expect different combinations or halftime subs at the spots for the LAFC and Houston games.
A glance at Toronto FC
Despite having just 33 points, Toronto (10-15-3) is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, which is significantly weaker than the West this year.
The Reds’ minus-14 goal differential is fifth-worst in the league. However, that’s a bit misleading for Toronto's home matches, as at BMO Field their goal differential is even.
Toronto is the only team in the MLS to have no draws at home with a record of 6-7-0, so it appears it might be all or nothing for Austin FC.
Two of the Reds’ designated players are Italian in wings Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.
Along with forward Prince Osei Owusu, those are the three players for Austin FC to be aware of as they’ve combined for 19 goals.
“They’re very fluid, move around a lot and (provide different challenges),” Wolff said. “Bernardeschi is extremely good … and certainly a key component to a lot of their offense.”
Toronto is coming off a rough 3-1 loss to D.C. United before the international break, but it’s 4-2-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions.
Ring the linguist
If Ring doesn’t stay within the soccer world after his playing career, he may have a future as a translator.
He speaks as many as four languages on the field during games depending on who’s playing.
Ring, who is also from Finland, speaks Finnish with Väisänen, Swedish with Mikkel Desler and Brendan Hines-Ike — both of whom played in Sweden — and Spanish with the club’s players from South America. (Ring noted his Spanish isn’t very good.)
If there was a player from Germany on Austin FC it would be five languages as Ring spent a portion of his youth and his playing career there and is fluent in German.
“It’s just something I do to try and make everyone feel comfortable,” he said. “In Spanish, I might say something completely out of context, but I try because it’s important to communicate and have the guys alert.”
Father Gallagher
Left-side winger Jon Gallagher and his wife welcomed their first baby Wednesday night.
Wolff said Gallagher still plans on traveling to Toronto.
When asked if he had any fatherly advice for Gallagher, Ring quipped: “Welcome to the club. That’s all I can say. He’ll figure it out with his wife."
Austin FC predicted lineup
Forward: Sebastián Driussi
Midfield: Jon Gallagher, Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, Alex Ring, Osman Bukari
Defense: Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Matt Hedges, Mikkel Desler
Goalie: Brad Stuver
Austin FC vs. Toronto FC prediction
Toronto FC 2, Austin FC 1: Austin FC hasn’t shown enough on the road this season to predict a win, and, strangely, its top performances there have come in losses to Dallas and LAFC. It’s a dire situation for the Verde & Black, needing a result on the road , but that’s the reality after they laid an egg vs. Vancouver.
How to watch, listen to Austin FC at Toronto FC
What: Austin FC (9-11-7, 34 points, 11th West) at Toronto FC (10-15-3, 33 points, eighth East)
When: 6:30 p.m.
Where: BMO Field
How to watch, listen: Apple TV, 97.5 FM, 104.3 FM (Spanish)
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC vs. Toronto FC: Our prediction and preview are in
Local News
Comments / 0