Austin FC will carry a winning line in three matches until Saturday when they host the growing Portland Timbers in a matchup between two of MLS’s hottest team.
Verde (4-2-0, 12 points) returns home after a 1-0 victory in St. Louis on Sunday. Myrto Uzuni made an assist by Osman Bukari for the lonely goal of the match while Brad Stuver stopped two shots to earn his third clean sheet in the season.
It was the first MLS target for Uzuni, which Austin signed in January from the Spanish second division page Granada CF for a reported transfer fee of $ 12.3 million. It apparently was only a matter of time until the Albanian international broke through for its new team.
“I always work, hard work,” said Uzuni. “I put everything on the pitch, so I think I deserve. In the last games I wasn’t lucky. At home I met two posts. I work hard for this moment and I hope more goals will come.”
It is Austin’s first winning line with three games since it won four straight matches June 30, July-July 2022, in a campaign where Verde advanced all the way to the Western Conference final.
Portland (3-2-1, 10 points) has won two games in a row and earned seven points in the last three races.
The hours go to Austin after a 3-1 victory at home over Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Antony Alves Santos scored two goals and Felipe Mora added one goal and two assists for Portland in the victory when the hours put nine shots on goal to just one for Houston.
“Law will continue to strengthen, and we have to make sure that we are also in that way of thinking – it’s really important,” said Timbers coach Phil Neville. “This is a marathon. We are only six matches in. We have to get a bigger (squad) and more depth for our group and more quality. I think this is the challenge for us over the next three or four weeks.”
The hours caught the first match between the pages this season 1-0 in Pacific Northwest. Portland owns a 6-3 all-time edge over Verde, with a draw in the series.
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