El Tree still looking for first 3-game winning streak after 1-1 draw at Miami
Austin FC gained a point on the road but failed to win three in a row for the first time this season during a 1-1 draw vs. Inter Miami CF Saturday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Outside back Nick Lima scored his first goal of the year for El Tree early in the second half a few minutes after Josef Martínez gave the hosts the lead.
Here are some thoughts from the match as Austin FC (7-8-5, 26 points) will travel to Minnesota Saturday for the second leg of a three-game road trip.
Bland performance
There’s nothing wrong with a tie on the road, but this was a bit of a bland performance against a team that had lost seven straight league matches, is in last place in the Eastern Conference and is just trying to tread water until Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets arrive later in the month.
With a win, El Tree would have leapt to fifth place in the West.
Instead, it still sits in eighth.
Austin FC wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t exceptional, and this is a performance no one will remember two weeks from now.
Man of the match: Nick Lima
Lima is quietly having a quality year, especially for a player who makes less than $400,000.
Having lost his starting position at the beginning of the season, Lima stepped in when Zan Kolmanic went down with a season-ending injury and has been nothing but consistent.
He’s also played center back at times, and his goal showed that he has the touch to be dangerous offensively when given the opportunity.
Miami’s goal a result of poor defense
Austin FC was a bit sloppy coming out of halftime, and it resulted in an easy goal for Martínez, who also nearly scored again seconds later.
Benjamin Cremaschi’s cross in the box went past Alex Ring, then somehow got by both Owen Wolff and Julio Cascante, and a wide-open Martínez easily put the ball past Brad Stuver from less than 10 yards away.
Suboptimal marking in the box has cost El Tree at points this season, and it struck again in this contest.
Stuver again excellent
Stuver had a great game with seven saves, a few of which were brilliant and likely kept Austin FC from a loss.
He kept his streak alive of playing every single minute in every competition this year for El Tree.
Why wasn’t Urruti put on earlier?
Striker Gyasi Zardes didn’t do much in this contest, so it was a bit puzzling as to why Maxi Urruti didn’t come on for him until the 80th minute?
Given another 20 minutes or so, Urruti could have possibly sparked the team to another goal or offered more energy.
Austin FC coach Josh Wolff has mostly done a good job with substitutions this season, but it would have been nice to see more of Urruti in this game.
On the road again...
Austin FC has six days off before it embarks on what will be its most challenging travel schedule of the year when it goes to Minnesota and Vancouver in a five-day stretch.
It then faces Sporting Kansas City on July 15 at home to end a span where it plays three times in eight days before the MLS season pauses a month for the Leagues Cup.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nick Lima's quality goal gives Austin FC a point at Miami
