Austin FC fell in a 1-0 defeat to the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at Providence Park, with a header from Portland defender Bill Tuiloma proving the difference in a closely-fought contest.
The two teams spent the early part of the match sizing each other up, with the first genuine chance not arriving until the 24th minute. Julio Cascante made a sliding block to deny Portland’s Dairon Asprilla, and Jaroslaw Niezgoda’s follow-up sliced wide.
Both sides then came close before the break. Sebastián Driussi put the ball in the net off Nick Lima’s cross in the 32nd minute, but was ruled offside, and the Timbers hit the post with five minutes to go until halftime.
The second half saw six yellow cards in 15 minutes before Portland broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, with Yimmi Chara swinging in a set piece delivery and Tuiloma heading it into the net.
Austin increased its pressure on the Portland goal, and were unlucky not to receive a penalty kick when the ball seemed to clearly strike Timbers defender Justin Rasmussen on the arm in the box. Despite a VAR review, the referee waved play on.
The Verde & Black continued to create chances until the final whistle, but couldn’t quite find the equalizer.
THREE THINGS
- RUBEN AT THE READY: Offseason signing Ruben Gabrielsen made his full debut for ATXFC, as the Norwegian defender started and went all 90 minutes.
- RECORD TIED: Despite the loss, Austin FC’s goal difference of +8 is tied for the best in MLS history through three games (1999 Chicago Fire FC, 2017 Atlanta United FC).
- CLOSING IN ON HISTORY: With 66 minutes played on Saturday, Diego Fagundez is now just 77 minutes away from becoming the 89th player in MLS history to play 20,000 career minutes.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its third home match and fourth match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday, March 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT. The match will feature a national TV broadcast in English language on FS1. In Spanish language, the match will feature a national broadcast on FOX Deportes. On radio, the match will be broadcast on KASE-FM (ALT 97.5) in English, as well as on TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB) in Spanish.
