Playing a lineup of mostly backups due to a plethora of injuries — midfielder Jorge Alastuey, who was called up Monday from the second team, started, if that tells one anything — the Verde & Black still had thoughts midway through the second half of possibly leaving San Jose with a result.
But the Earthquakes, who are MLS’ hottest and best team through the season’s first two months, quickly demolished those hopes.
San Jose (8-1-0, 24 points) scored four times in an eight-minute span to turn the game into a rout and take a 5-1 win at PayPal Park.
Joseph Rosales gave Austin FC (1-4-4, 7 points) a lead in the ninth minute after he took advantage of an awful pass by Ronaldo Vieira deep in Earthquakes territory.
Jack Jasinski scored on a header in the 58th minute for San Jose to tie the match, then Timo Werner’s penalty conversion started the Earthquakes’ run of late goals. Preston Judd scored twice and Ousseni Bouda found the net to reach the game’s final tally.
Here are some key takeaways from the match as Austin FC plays its third game in eight days Saturday when it hosts Houston.
There’s a reason Austin FC entered the contest a massive 5-1 underdog.
And the final result showed the oddsmakers know what they’re doing.
An Austin FC team playing without Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, Myrto Uzuni, Jayden Nelson and Oleksandr Svatok in the starting lineup isn’t going to win many games. (Svatok, who played 90 minutes Saturday at Toronto, is the only one of the five not injured.)
And the club’s health situation got worse when starting left back Guilherme Biro left the game in the first half. (Reserve winger Robert Taylor was also out with an injury.)
Austin FC coach Nico Estévez lamented his team losing its “mindset” and “shape” in the game’s final 20 minutes, but any club that has to start Alastuey, CJ Fodrey and Besard Sabovic is already in a losing position.
Goalie Brad Stuver almost single-handedly kept the Verde & Black in the contest the first 80 minutes. And he certainly saved Austin FC from an embarrassing scoreline the likes of 8-1 or 9-1 with some highlight-reel saves.
“We didn’t adjust well to what they were doing in the second half,” Stuver said.
He’s right. But with its current available roster, a near-miracle was Austin FC’s biggest chance to get a result. Tactics weren’t going to save it.
Estévez is currently bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Until it gets at least half of the players back it was missing Wednesday, Austin FC is going to be hoping for draws.
The good news is Estévez made it sound like none of the team's injuries are serious.
The bad news is things might get worse before they get better if he has to field a similar lineup Saturday.
Estévez made the right call in not bringing Svatok and Ilie Sánchez off the bench once San Jose scored its second goal. Not only because the game was lost at that point, but because the club will need those two players for significant minutes against Houston.
Austin FC also needs to hope that Joseph Rosales, Facundo Torres and Jon Gallagher hold up physically after playing a lot of minutes this season. An injury to any of those three, especially Rosales or Torres, under the current situation would be disastrous.