Extratime Abroad: Austin FC - Gallagher & Co. Brush Aside Bale's Los Angeles FC

Austin's Q2 Stadium

Austin's Q2 Stadium Credit: None

Austin FC closed the gap to conference leaders LAFC with an emphatic 4-1 win at the Q2 stadium on Friday.

A brace from Maxi Urruti along with goals from Diego Fagundez and Sebastian Driussi put the Verde into a commanding lead before a consolation from LA's Christian Arango, as Irishman Jon Gallagher put in another solid shift at left-back.

As I left work from the downtown state Capitol to make my way to the Q2 stadium in North Austin, I was struck with a number of familiar feelings on the way to my first game in over six months.

The first of these was the typical stress of sitting in traffic, biting my fingernails as cars crawled up the highway with the clock ticking down towards kick-off.

After what seemed like an eternity of silently cursing the Friday pile-up, I eventually reached the ground with a few minutes to spare and these sentiments quickly gave way to the excitement and anticipation of approaching a stadium for the first time.

I stopped for a moment to take in the impressively sleek and modern stadium before making my way to the press box as the Austin fans roared their side on to the pitch for their warm-up.

As I entered the press area, I was a tad disappointed to find that a pane of glass separated the journalists from the pitch, slightly removing us from the noise and fanfare of the crowd but still allowing us to get a sense of the atmosphere.

I took a moment from my preparations to enjoy the sight of legends of the game Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini warming up as kick-off drew near.

Austin made the brighter start with a couple of early shots in a game that had full-blooded tackles flying in from the outset, including a cruncher from Dundalk native Gallagher on the five time European cup winner Bale.

Clear chances were few and far between in the opening half hour, so it was little surprise that a set piece was required to break the deadlock.



Driussi was bundled over by Colombian defender Eddie Segura on the edge of the box, giving Fagundez the opportunity to swing the resulting free-kick over the wall and past the outstretched arm of LAFC keeper Maxime Crepeau.

The game turned increasingly bad-tempered after the restart with tempers boiling over just before the half.

The feet of Urruti were nipped at by LA's other Colombian centre-half Jesus Murillo, who then threw himself to the floor in a rather embarrassing fashion as Urruti retaliated.

A large melee subsequently broke out on the sideline with substitutes, coaches and even keepers getting involved as the officials struggled to regain control. Experienced wind-up specialist Chiellini couldn't help but get involved even though he was yet to even enter the game.

Proceedings eventually got back underway as the Verde went in at the break one goal to the good after an entertaining first half.

Gallagher looked sharp at full-back and was able to deal with the rotating LA forward line without too much difficulty, showing he was not to be intimated by marking either Bale or MLS legend Carlos Vela.



Any fears of an LA comeback were soon put to bed after the Verde made a flying start to the second half.

Less than two minutes after the restart, Urruti directed a delicate cushioned header into the far corner after an accurate delivery from right-back Nick Lima.

The Argentine Urruti got his second of the night just moments later as he capitalized on poor defending in the box, stealing possession and rounding Crepeau to put Austin into a 3-0 lead.

Driussi, who looked head and shoulders above every player on the pitch, got himself on the scoresheet just before the hour to put the game firmly out of reach.

He was played in by Fagundez and made no mistake in cutting the ball back and calmly finishing past the Canadian international goalkeeper to raucous chants of "MVP" by the home crowd after his 19th goal of the season.

LAFC made a raft of substitutions to stem the tide, bringing in European Championship winner Chiellini and withdrawing Bale.

Unsurprisingly, the introduction of one of the greatest defenders of our generation halted the Austin onslaught while Bale's exit led to an improvement in the Californians attacking output.

The former Real Madrid man exerted little influence on proceedings though I suspect his priorities may lie in keeping his knees intact for the World Cup rather than his side's playoff aspirations.

Chiellini made his mark immediately by playing a pass through the lines which lead to the Austin defence losing their clean sheet.

Keeper Brad Stuver made a close range save but was unable to stop the rebound from Arango, however it mattered little as Austin saw out the win at 4-1 after blitzing their opponents with three goals in nine minutes at the start of the second half.

I had done plenty of research on the franchise and its fans since their inception last year but I was still unprepared for the passion and ceaseless energy of the home crowd throughout the game.

The large contingent of drummers and chanting never let up, creating a party atmosphere for one of the finest games in the young side's history and as first games go, I couldn't have picked much better.

Aside from the gridlocked traffic and negligent lack of public transport, it was an extremely enjoyable match-day experience which I thoroughly recommend if you're ever in Central Texas.

The Verde have now closed the gap to LAFC to six points and keep their hopes of a play-off bye alive as they face Portland Timbers on Wednesday.

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