Previewing Houston Dynamo at Austin FC with Verde All Day
(image via Austin FC)
The Houston Dynamo took the short trip west to the state capital as they return to MLS play tonight. We talked to our friend Phil West from Verde All Day to get some insight on Austin FC ahead of the match.
Bayou City Soccer (BCS): Austin did not participate in Leagues Cup, so how do you expect the time off to affect them, if any, as they return to play?
Verde All Day (VAD): They've had a light June and July compared to a packed and winless May, and have gone 4-1-1 those last two months in league play. I think they're doing well with this more relaxed pace, and they did get in a closed-door split-squad scrimmage in on Sunday, after which I ran into a player randomly out and about around town who looked very happy and relaxed. I feel reasonably good about where they're at, which I haven't for a lot of the season.
BCS: With Brandon Vázquez out injured, how has that changed Austin's offense and the way they attack?
VAD: One of the issues this season has been trying to get Vázquez and Austin's other big DP forward signing, Myrto Uzuni, to coexist well on the same field. Vázquez was beginning to get into a scoring groove before tearing his ACL in the marathon Open Cup match against San Jose, while Uzuni was in a horrific drought, and now Uzuni appears to be getting his groove on as the lone forward. Part of that has to do with Osman Bukari, Austin's DP semi-playmaking winger, who has looked remarkable in this recent stretch of games. They still don't have a true chance creator — Owen Wolff, Austin's answer to Jack McGlynn, is the closest thing to that — but they scored four goals their last time out, which is encouraging, but that was 19% of their total season output, which tells you just how much they haven't been scoring.
BCS: Austin currently sits in 7th in the West with a game in hand over a lot of teams. At this point, is making the playoffs a must to consider this season a success?
VAD: Making the playoffs is A success, but if the playoffs were to start today, they'd play Vancouver and I'd expect them to crash out in a three-game series again, so success is relative. Starting the season, top four looked like a distinct possibility, and that's still possible, but I expect them to land 6th or 7th, which is ... fine. (The game I'm really focused on for them in the Open Cup semifinal next month at Minnesota. If they win that, they get to host an Open Cup final on Oct. 1, and y'all know what it's like to win an Open Cup and lord it over other teams regardless of how you do in MLS. THAT would be a success.
BCS: We've seen a couple of new signings for Austin in this summer window. How will they fit into the team and might we see them tonight?
VAD: So, Mateja Đorđević is the first official signing of the summer, and he's still parked as visa issues get worked on. Nicky Beloko signed a pre-contract in January and arrived earlier this summer; he's gotten his first match action in last Sunday's scrimmage and might get a runout toward the end of the match, but we did get some good Beloko updates which I covered in my latest story, which starts by delighting in Austin getting and then flipping an international slot we thought was going to be for a player but got the club $175k in GAM instead. Head coach Nico Estévez has been reticent to play new players; Robert Taylor came over in April and has gotten just 178 minutes in nine appearances with no starts. (We've been joking about Justice for Robert Taylor as he's been passed over for starts match after match, but with Owen Wolff now deployed as a nominal left wing, Dani Pereira and Besard Šabović getting regular starts in midfield, and Jon Gallagher also getting regular starts as the team's Swiss Army knife, Taylor's likely to stay in a sub role — though he did get his first goal last time out against D.C., so he's got that going for him.)
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We want to thank Phil for his time and wish our friends in Austin the best of luck tonight.
