Extra Time Exasperation: Late Equalizer Earns Atlanta United 1-1 Draw Against Austin FC

Jamal Thiare tied the match late for the visitors after Brandon Vazquez’s stunning free-kick goal.

An enterprising filmmaker might have decided to visit Q2 Stadium on Wednesday night for Austin FC’s match against Atlanta United to collect footage for a documentary called When Designated Player Signings Go Wrong.

Both teams entered the contest enduring disappointing seasons. Who’s to blame for the bad results and the increasingly dour vibes? DP attackers who are performing below expectations.

Before Wednesday, Atlanta’s expensive trio of Emmanuel Latte Lath, Aleksey Miranchuk, and prodigal son Miguel Almiron had combined for just 11 goal contributions in 2025. Austin FC fans can look at that total with envy. Brandon Vazquez, Myrto Uzuni, and Osman Bukari began the night with only six goal contributions. If the Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme didn’t appear on social media on Wednesday night, the internet failed.

While Austin FC will feel more optimistic about at least one of its DPs after the match, Atlanta United will likely feel better about the 1-1 result after Jamal Thiare, a 57th-minute substitute for the largely anonymous Latte Lath, snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat - jaws that might need dental work. Austin FC’s crooked backline was at least partly responsible for the tying goal. Center-back Oleksandr Svatok wasn’t level with his fellow defenders when Almiron flicked a clever pass to the (maybe) onside Saba Lojanidze, who then crossed to Thiare for the goal.

There’s also a question as to whether Thiare was onside at the time of Saba’s pass. In his post-match press conference, Austin FC head coach Nico Estevez lamented the lack of certainty around MLS offside decisions. MLS doesn’t use a virtual offside line or a semi-automated offside, as seen in other competitions. “If you don't have the technology, it's very subjective,” Estevez said.

Despite MLS acting like a stubborn grandparent refusing to give up an AOL email address, Austin FC’s defense has been leaking more chances of late. In its first seven matches of the season, Verde only allowed more than one expected goal (xG) worth of chances once, a 2-1 home victory over San Diego FC, where the team went up two goals early and then absorbed pressure the rest of the game (all stats per FBRef.com or FotMob.com unless otherwise noted).

Austin FC lost the xG battle on Wednesday - Atlanta had 1.33 xG to Verde’s .80 - and the match was the fourth time in six games Verde has allowed greater than one xG worth of chances. The two exceptions were a 1-0 win over the truly horrid Los Angeles Galaxy and a 3-0 drubbing administered to Verde by Minnesota United (it’s tough to take the moral xG high ground in that one).

“Maybe we’ve just been a bit lackluster in certain moments,” Austin FC full-back Jon Gallagher said post-match. “It obviously happens in Cincy with the quality player in Evander, and (there were) some quality players on us tonight, too.”

After a sluggish first 45 minutes where both sets of players looked like they were playing on a day where temperatures soared into the triple digits, it appeared the contest’s main talking point would be the continued malfunctioning of the teams' DPs. Almiron spurned a glorious 8th-minute near-breakaway by firing a shot directly at Brad Stuver. Uzuni responded in the 44th minute by knocking his breakaway shot - courtesy of an exquisite Owen Wolff through ball - tamely off the right foot of Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

But Vazquez had other narrative plans. A motif of the first half was Austin FC’s inability to move the ball into dangerous central areas in the final third (really, this has been a frustrating motif for most of the team’s 2025 season). Here’s a graphic that shows the average positioning of each Austin FC player on the ball in the first half, and note the open space centrally below the forward line.

Image via SofaScore.com

This changed after halftime. “We did an adjustment in the second half on our buildup, putting Ilie (Sanchez) a little bit more on the right, helping the center-backs,” Estevez said post-match. “(This was) to try to make the opponent step with one (player from) the midfield line and then open the space.” Sanchez dropping deeper to join Austin FC’s center-backs when building play succeeded in opening up space between Atlanta’s midfield and defensive lines, and Vazquez took advantage of that space.

Here’s the average positioning of Austin FC’s players on the ball for the entirety of the contest. Vazquez’s average position drops when taking into account the second half.

Image via SofaScore.com

The location of the number 9 dot representing Vazquez in the graphic is essentially the location on the field where he won the free kick that led to the game’s most sublime moment. It’s no secret (and if you’re a regular Oak Tree Times reader, you’ll be well aware): the Finishing Fairy hasn’t been kind to Vazquez this year. He began Wednesday with three goals on 6.7 xG. Which makes the banger of a free kick Vazquez blasted off Guzan’s outstretched right hand and into the net’s top corner even more stunning. After spending much of 2025 failing to finish chances everyone thinks he should, Vazquez scored a truly improbable, eye-popping goal.

Wolff is also a player who could cause problems by getting on the ball in the middle third outside of the opposition’s penalty area. No one in 2025 on Austin FC has played more passes that have led to a shot, and his 2.7 expected assisted goals (xAG) total is the highest on the team (these numbers are somewhat buoyed by Wolff being Austin FC’s primary corner kick taker).

“He’s a player when he has space in between the lines, he can…take (advantage of) those spaces really well,” Estevez said of Wolff post-match. However, Wolff’s touch map shows he’s not finding himself in prime central areas to influence Austin FC’s attack.

Image via SofaScore.com

Wednesday night was the fourth consecutive MLS contest where Austin FC failed to score from open play. Verde’s big-money DP forwards make for easy scapegoats. But if the team doesn’t start generating more chances from optimum central positions, it will be difficult for the trio to live up to expectations.