Brad Stuver kicked the ball in frustration into his goal’s side netting after the final whistle blew.
It’s a sentiment that was probably shared by the rest of his teammates.
Austin FC avoided a loss — which there’s a lot of merit in — but that’s one of the few positives from its performance as it slogged its way to a 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake on Wednesday at Q2 Stadium.
Diego Rubio came on as a late sub and scored on a header to tie the game in stoppage time to give the Verde & Black a point from the contest after William Agada finished a cross in the box midway through the second half that put Real Salt Lake ahead.
Here are some key takeaways from the match as Austin FC (5-6-5, 20 points) heads to San Diego on Saturday to finish out a nine-game stretch in the month of May:
Austin FC wasn’t sharp
This may not have been Austin FC’s worst performance of the season, but it’s not far off.
The second half was a particularly rough watch, with the Verde & Black rarely creating opportunities prior to the final 10 minutes.
“We didn’t play well,” Austin FC coach Nico Estévez said. “We didn’t have control until late.”
Estévez attributed the lack of dangerous attacking moments to Real Salt Lake’s defense and midfield playing close together — or having “tight lines” for soccer purists — but it wasn’t clear what the Verde & Black were trying to do in the second half.
After some quality moments in the first 45 minutes — more on that later — forwards Osman Bukari and Brandon Vazquez were non-factors the second half, while fellow forward Myrto Uzuni was a non-factor the entire match.
Estévez didn’t bring on Rubio and Jáder Obrian up top until after the 80th minute, which was probably 10 minutes too late with how the starting frontline played after the break.
But the forwards didn’t get much help from the midfield, either. Owen Wolff was average while both Ilie Sánchez and Besard Sabovic had subpar performances, and there wasn’t any life from that spot on the field until Dani Pereira came on in the 68th minute.
“We were missing someone bringing the ball forward until Dani came in,” Estévez said.
Sánchez took some blame for the team’s performance, noting he had a poor game, but also said the team as a whole has to be better Saturday.
“We definitely need to see a step forward,” Sánchez said.
Missed chances costly for Austin FC
Bukari and Vazquez almost connected for a phenomenal goal midway through the first half,
Beating two Real Salt Lake defenders with some impressive dribbling, Bukari lofted a short cross that Vazquez headed off the crossbar.
It was a fine, yet wasted moment from Bukari, and a play that Vazquez needs to finish. Vazquez is presumably making seven figures — the club paid F.C. Monterrey $10 million for his transfer in the offseason — and a striker on that salary has to produce a goal from that opportunity.
Left back Guilherme Biro also had a poor miss on a wide-open header early in the second half that would have changed the game. While as a defender and someone on a salary closer to the league average, Biro’s miss is less egregious, it was still a waste of a golden chance.
The two plays encapsulated an Austin FC offense that has struggled to score all season with just 11 goals in 16 games, which is tied with St. Louis — who just fired its coach — for last in the MLS. The Verde & Black have only scored two goals in league play once.
“When you don’t capitalize, it’s difficult,” Estévez said.
Bottom line
It’s been noted many times in this space how there are no must-win games in MLS until September. However, Austin FC has put itself in a position to where it needs to make up some points on the road after draws in its last two home matches against 12th-place clubs in Atlanta and Real Salt Lake.
The Verde & Black have fallen out of playoff positioning to 10th in the Western Conference and face two tough upcoming away matches in second-place San Diego and in the altitude at Colorado.
While it’s always better to be hot later in the season than earlier in MLS, Austin FC would do itself a favor by not dropping too far out of a playoff position heading into the second half of the year.
Oh, and scoring more than one goal a game would be a wise idea, too.
Man of the match: Diego Rubio
Besides the goal, Rubio brought energy to a side that had been mostly blasé for the second half. Rubio needs to be subbed on prior to the 75th minute going forward.
Austin FC player ratings
(Players rated from 1-10 with 10 being the highest)
Forward: Myrto Uzuni 4.5, Brandon Vazquez 5, Osman Bukari 5.5
Midfield: Owen Wolff 5, Ilie Sánchez 4.5, Besard Sabovic 4.5
Defense: Guilherme Biro 5.5, Brendan Hines-Ike 6, Oleksandr Svatok 6, Jon Gallagher 6.5
Goalie: Brad Stuver 6.5
Subs: Dani Pereira 6.5, Diego Rubio 7, Zan Kolmanic 6.5, Jáder Obrian 5, Robert Taylor 5
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: MLS scores: 5 takeaways as Austin FC draws with Real Salt Lake