The U.S. Open Cup brings out the goals in Austin FC.
For the second straight match in the competition, the Verde & Black had no trouble scoring as they defeated Houston 3-1 in a round of 16 contest Wednesday at Q2 Stadium.
Brandon Vazquez, Osman Bukari and Ilie Sánchez tallied goals for Austin FC, which led 3-0 midway through the second half and will find out its quarterfinal opponent Thursday.
Here are some key takeaways from the match as the Verde & Black return to league play with a tough road match Saturday at Minnesota:
Austin FC excelled at what’s most important
Austin FC wasn’t at its best Wednesday, but when you score goals it doesn’t matter.
Multiple contests this year the Verde & Black have had a good showing and little to show for it, so karma may have evened out a bit for them.
“I think we’ve played better before … but the objective is to move on to the next round,” Austin FC coach Nico Estévez said. “One of the things we were missing (this season) was winning the boxes, and today we won the boxes while they won the run of play.”
Houston dominated possession with 68% and generally dictated the game, yet it couldn’t put shots on target when it had chances and Austin FC goalie Brad Stuver didn’t have to make any notable saves.
Meanwhile, the Verde & Black capitalized when they needed to.
Vazquez’s goal of settling a tipped cross in the box, turning and firing at a sharp angle was an impressive display of skill and showed why the club paid $10 million to pry him away from C.F. Monterrey in the offseason.
It’s debatable whether the penalty awarded to Austin FC that Bukari converted should have been given, but the Verde & Black were pushing the attack. And the Ghanaian national team player was brilliant in setting up Sanchez’s goal by beating a defender and finding a teammate in the middle of the box.
If CJ Fodrey doesn’t miss a wide-open chance late in the second half, the scoreline is even more lopsided.
“We’ve had some great moments the last two games that translated tonight,” Stuver said. “We have to continue that.”
The Verde & Black value the U.S. Open Cup
It’s obvious Austin FC has put an emphasis on giving the U.S. Open Cup its best effort.
While Houston sat most of its better players for the first half before bringing nearly all of them on at various points in the second half, Estévez — like he did in the round of 32 against El Paso — fielded a starting lineup that didn’t raise any eyebrows. Center back Brendan Hines-Ike was the only regular who didn’t play in the match.
Nearly all coaches say they take every competition seriously, but you’re more inclined to believe Estévez when he says “we’re ambitious in every competition and every game” than chalk it up to coachspeak.
Austin FC’s players also seem engaged in the competition — “We want to compete for trophies,” Jon Gallagher said — and now that the club is in the quarterfinals, one can argue it should emphasize this competition over the surrounding league games that week in early July.
Man of the match: Osman Bukari
Bukari was strong up the right side for the second consecutive match with his speed bothering the Houston defense. His assist on Sanchez’s goal was the second-best play of the contest, trailing only Vazquez’s goal. If Bukari continues this form, it will give a boost to an Austin FC offense that has struggled this season in MLS play.
Austin FC player ratings
(Players rated 1-10 with 10 being the highest.)
Forward: Jáder Obrian 6, Brandon Vazquez 8, Osman Bukari 8
Midfield: Owen Wolff 6, Ilie Sánchez 6, Nicolás Dubersarsky 5.5
Defense: Guilherme Biro 6, Julio Cascante 6, Oleksandr Svatok 6.5, Jon Gallagher 7
Goalie: Brad Stuver 7
Subs: Myrto Uzuni 5, Besard Sabovic 5, Diego Rubio 5.5, Zan Kolmanic 5, CJ Fodrey NA