Extratime Abroad: Austin FC still waiting on play-offs after back-to-back losses

Austin FC failed to follow up their on impressive victory over Los Angeles FC as they lost back to back games against Portland Timbers and Nashville FC. The Verde could have sealed their spot in the MLS post-season with a win, but will have to wait a while longer to confirm their place.

Dundalk's Jon Gallagher continued his streak of starting at left-back but couldn't influence the results in a frustrating week for the Texas side.

Optimism around Austin was high following the easy dispatch of Bale and Chiellini's LAFC as the fans made their way to the Q2 stadium hoping to see their side push for top spot in the Western Conference.

It was a week of inclement weather in the state capital as strong thunderstorms buffeted the city. This led to a huge delay in kick-off, pushing the game's start from 8:00pm all the way back to 9:50pm.

The teams finally got going after the near two hour delay with Austin flying out of the traps, creating a number of chances in the opening stages as a header from captain and former Finnish international Adam Ring struck the crossbar after 10 minutes.

The Timbers, who are firmly in a dogfight to reach the play-offs, hit back soon after. Forward Dairon Asprilla was sure he'd given his side the lead as he rolled the ball towards and empty net, but Norwegian international Ruben Gabrielsen pulled off an impressive clearance to deny the Colombian.

However, the side from Oregon weren't to be denied for long as they took the lead on 16 minutes through New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma. A wide free-kick from Eryck Williamson was powered past keeper Brad Stuver as Jon Gallagher was caught napping, failing to track his man from the set-piece.

The Verde were denied by the crossbar for a second time shortly after half-time as talisman Sebastian Driussi came agonizingly close with another header.

Austin were made to rue these missed opportunities as the Timbers doubled their lead with just over 15 minutes to go.

Brad Stuver got down quickly to parry a shot from inside the box, but could only do so at the feet of Zach McGraw who had the easiest of finishes to net his first MLS goal.

The home side gave themselves a glimmer of hope as Driussi netted his 20th league goal of the season, reacting swiftly to direct a cross from substitute Felipe into the bottom corner.

However, it was too little too late as Austin fell to a 2-1 defeat despite the introduction of new designated player Emiliano Rigoni, a former Zenit St. Petersburg and Atalanta forward recently signed from Sao Paulo.

The home crowd left tired and disappointed as full-time didn't come till just before midnight due to the long delay. Austin certainly had the chance to take all three points but turned their attention to Nashville FC for their next fixture.

Three days later the Verde made their way to Tennessee for the music city derby. Austin would once again come away empty handed with a much less inspiring performance.

U.S. international Walker Zimmerman opened up the scoring just after half-time, rising up highest to direct a corner home as Austin conceded from a set-piece in consecutive games.

The Verde labored for the rest of the evening but were put to bed in the final ten minutes as Driussi's MVP rival Hany Mukhtar finished the contest with a late brace, first flashing a inch perfect shot across Stuver from a tight angle and tapping in from close range in injury-time after a lighting fast break from an Austin corner.

The former Benfica and Hertha Berlin player now has 21 league goals this season, one more than Driussi.

The away side had to deal with one more blow however, as a farcical few minutes from Senegalese substitute Moussa Djitte saw him pick two yellow cards in the space of a few seconds, forcing his side to see out the last moments of the game with ten men.

It would take a catastrophic capitulation for Josh Wolff's side to miss out on the play-offs, but nonetheless, they will be disappointed not to keep the pressure up on LAFC who were unexpectedly defeated by Houston Dynamo before getting back on track against Real Salt Lake.

The Verde will dust themselves off before making the long trip to Washington state where they'll face a Seattle Sounders team fighting for their play-off lives as the tough games keep coming thick and fast.