On a historic night at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC scored its first goals at home and notched the first home win in Club history with a 4-1 victory over the Portland Timbers. ATXFC earned all three points in its third match at home in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 20,738, remaining undefeated at Q2 Stadium.Â
The Verde & Black came out strong, creating multiple chances in the first 20 minutes of the half and controlling the run of play. The sustained pressure paid dividends in the 28th minute. Forward Jon Gallagher combined with TomĂĄs Pochettino on the right wing and continued his run into the box. Pochettinoâs sharp return pass hit the Irishman in stride, and Gallagher slotted it the ball past Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark with his left foot. The resulting euphoria among fans and players reflected 200-plus minutes of anticipation was felt by fans throughout Q2 Stadium, as the crowd erupted to celebrate the Clubâs first goal at home.Â
Five minutes later, Diego Fagundez added to Austinâs lead. Julio Cascanteâs strong header at midfield found Cecilio DomĂnguez in space. With a deft touch, DomĂnguez played Fagundez into a 1v1 against Clark. Fagundez calmly tucked the ball under Clark for his third goal of the season.Â
The Timbers got one goal back in the seventh minute of stoppage time after Marvin LorĂa received Diego Valeriâs lofted pass deep on the right side. LorĂa picked out Jeremy Ebobisse inside the six-yard box for a simple finish.Â
In the second half, Austin regained its attacking rhythm, and Hector Jimenez nearly rewarded Daniel Pereiraâs long dribble run with a 16-yard blast. However, Timbers defender Dario Zuparic saved it with a glancing header off the crossbar. Pochettino also made a marauding run through the midfield and forced Clark into a quality save.Â
Austin FC midfielder and captain Alex Ring restored the two-goal lead in the 77th  minute. DomĂnguez served a free kick that Ring headed just inside the far post from about 15 yards out. Â
A few minutes later, Jimenez won the ball in the Timbers half, exchanged passes with Jared Stroud, and side-stepped a defender before passing the ball into an empty side of the goal. Â
Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff:
On midfielder Daniel Pereira: â[Daniel] Pereira was one of our central midfielders, heâs got a lot of qualities, 20 years old, he doesnât look like you normal 20-year-old. Heâs been out for seven weeks, these are his first significant minutes of the game. His ability to turn in tight spots, his ability to dribble and drive in tight spots after the challenge. These arenât easy guys, those are talented players, those are the best in the midfield. Weâre going to keep pushing, I told him heâs got high potential; Iâm going to keep pushing him, keep growing him. His ceiling is what heâs going to make it, heâs a really talented player.â
On the end of the first half: âThe first 45 minutes was as professional as a performance as Iâve seen us have, with our team or any team. It was so balanced from the start to the 35th minute. Whatever happens on the field youâve got to be able to manage it, and we did from start to finish. We lost a little of our form for moments, but we got to finish out the half. So, I came in and told them, itâs just about going out there and understanding, theyâre going to come with energy, theyâre going to come with intensity, they got a goal to come back into it. Now weâre going to stick to what weâre doing. Weâre going to get out shape, get our structure, get the ball, try to take the power from them and give them credit, they came out in the second half and pushed. They started pressing a little more but for us it was about pushing, taking the ball away a little more from them and utilizing that to try to kill their energy. Try to kill their spirit. But the third goal was always going to do it. Thatâs what weâve got to keep in mind. We have to stay hungry, we have to stay aggressive. You got to get that third goal and that becomes the knockout punch.â
On the significance of tonight: âI think itâs extremely significant. We went in the locker room after the game and thatâs what I said. They brought us all here. They built this unbelievable stadium. Delivered us to this fantastic community and weâre fortunate enough to get goals and cap for a win. But the fans, everythingâs been right. Tonight, we got the goal, to break that seal and to cap it off for our first win in Q2 [Stadium]. Itâs a momentous occasion, and weâre very fortunate to be doing what we do. Moments like this to be a first-year team, to get your first goal, your first win, you know it will be memorable. Certainly, will be very memorable for me and I hope all these players and fans remember it as memorable of an experience.â
On the defensive effort: âObviously itâs a funny thing, when the goalies get talked about its youâre happy, but that means heâs under the gun, heâs making a lot of saves and Brad [Stuver] has been fantastic for us. But collective our offense starts from the moment we have it and our defense starts from the moment we donât have it. But obviously itâs fantastic. Ćœan [KolmaniÄ] been great, as well as Hector [Jimenez], heâs done a great job filling in for Nick [Lima]. Thereâs good experience out there, thereâs good balance out there. Having Alex [Ring], Diego [Fagundez], all those guys that are real warriors. To be competitors right in front of there, you know, that helps. But itâs a collective effort, our team certainly has experienced a lot these first dozen games and tonight was a very all around and professional performance. But our defense has been probably the more consistent aspect of our game throughout the season so far.â
Austin FC Forward Jon Gallagher
On the non-scoring drought: Yeah, itâs a strange feeling I mean Iâve been on teams where youâre not scoring but thatâs because youâre not creating chances. Youâve seen at Q2 [Stadium] where weâve just been dominating games, peppering the goals, especially the first 15 minutes or something. Itâs frustrating but at the same time one of them has got to go in, one of them has got to bounce of someoneâs head or thigh or something. Weâve just got to get lucky, and when that happens. The floodgates open. I woke up having a good feeling this morning and felt that we were going to score tonight. We had to.Â
On the team playing better together: âI think the coaching staff does a brilliant job of scouting the opponentsâ weaknesses. Something in detail that I have not experienced in my previous teams is how tactically smart the coaches are. I mean every game they draw a plan on how weâre going to exploit them, and it works nearly every game. That final ball just wasnât there, I donât know what it was, maybe it was just nerves. Guys being more selfless and making runs in the box to make more space. I think you saw that a lot with the goals. Guys thinking, okay Iâm not going to score here but maybe I can and if I donât that guy is going to be open.â
Goal-Scoring SummaryÂ
ATX (1-0) â Jon Gallagher, 28â (assisted by TomĂĄs Pochettino)Â
ATX (2-0) â Diego Fagundez 33â (assisted by Cecilio DomĂnguez, Julio Cascante)Â
POR (2-1) â Jeremy Ebobisse 45â+7â (assisted by Marvin LorĂa, Diego Valeri)Â
ATX (3-1) â Alex Ring 77â (assisted by Cecilio DomĂnguez)Â
ATX (4-1)Â â Hector Jimenez 81' (assisted by Jared Stroud)Â