After going scoreless in its last two games, the Austin FC attack came together in a hectic 4-1 victory over the Portland Timbers.
The abundance of goals is a clear positive for Austin FC, but the win was also the first victory for the Verde in front of their home fans after a draw at home on June 27.
Austin opened the scoreline in the 28th minute with a goal from right-winger Jon Gallagher and five minutes later Diego Fagundez added another for an early 2-0 lead.
You thought we'd stop at one?@DiegolFagundez doubles our lead at @Q2Stadium! pic.twitter.com/hGTnBgDCRv
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 2, 2021
The play on the wings is a welcome positive for the Verde, who lost starting striker Danny Hoesen for the year to a broken hip earlier this week.
On the eve of halftime Jeremy Ebobisse scored to get the Timbers back in the match, but from start to finish it was all Austin FC.
Midfielder Alex Ring was the star of the night, dropping in deep to facilitate possession throughout the match and scoring the third goal in the 77th to put the match out of reach.
The goal from Ring was significant from a game flow perspective and was also the first goal for Austin FC in the last 15 minutes of any match this season.
For good measure, right back Hector Jimenez added a fourth goal in the 81st, intercepting a pass in the midfield and finding Jared Strout on the right side of the box. Strout slid it back to Jimenez for the tap-in goal.
We opened the floodgates! Let's go, @Hector__J16! pic.twitter.com/KP7KJyzFqJ
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 2, 2021
Across the board it was a dominating showing by Austin FC, creating 12 shots and holding 69 percent of the possession in the match.
Heading into a midweek match against LAFC, head coach Josh Wolff must feel confident that his squad is starting to figure things out in the attack.
Tonight was electric. Everyone in the stadium was engaged and ready throughout the entire night. After watching a recording when I got home, the broadcast doesn’t do justice to how loud it was inside. Amazing game, and this is only the beginning…