Austin FC settles for draw at Inter Miami
After two wins at home to start the second half of the MLS season, Austin FC couldn't quite keep the good mojo going on the road at Inter Miami settling for a 1-1 draw.
"It's a hard earned point on the road," said Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff. "I don't think we played particularly well in the first half...so many poor performances in the first half."
The host club got on the board first with a goal in the 47th minute from their star Josef Martínez. A cross found its way through three Austin players to Martínez who slotted it home past goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
After a scoreless first half, Austin quickly responded with an equalizer. Sebastián Driussi's shot in the 51st minute was deflected in the box to Nick Lima who calmly found the corner of the net to even the score at one for his first goal with Austin FC.
"I think we started the second half not the way we wanted," said Lima. "It was good for us to get forward and get balls in the box. Right place right time and was fortunate enough to get a goal there."
Miami controlled much of the first half but the Verde and Black had a big chance in the 15th minute. A Julio Cascante header from Dani Pereira was deflected off the post for Austin's closest call of the first half.
The second half saw a number of opportunities for both teams to snag three points with some big chances coming from Miami after the goals. Brad Stuver came up big a number of times in goal, particularly in the 65th minute keeping the score even.
"Getting punched in the face helped the guys," said Wolff about the Inter Miami goal. "The reaction and response was pretty immediate and that's the sign of a good team."
With the draw, Austin now sits at 26 points in 20 MLS matches. At the time of their game's conclusion, the Verde and Black sit at eighth place in the Western Conference. Inter Miami remains at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Verde and Black will stay on the road next week. Austin will play next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Minnesota as they look to continue to climb the table in the west.