July 2, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
Dundalk’s Jon Gallagher etched his name in Austin FC history Thursday scoring his club’s first-ever goal in the MLS at the Q2 stadium.
Gallagher scored the opening goal in Austin FC’s 4-1 drubbing of Portland Timbers.
The 25-year-old sent the capacity crowd wild in the 28th minute, guiding a return pass from Tomas Pochettino low inside the left post.
The strike ended Austin FC’s stretch of nearly 210 minutes at the newly-christened stadium without a goal.
“I woke up having a good feeling this morning and felt that we were going to score tonight. We had to,” a confident Gallagher said afterward.
“You’ve seen at Q2 [Stadium] where we’ve just been dominating games, peppering the goals, especially the first 15 minutes or something.”
“It’s frustrating but at the same time one of them has got to go in, one of them has got to bounce off someone’s head or thigh or something. We’ve just got to get lucky, and when that happens the floodgates open.”
The victory also snapped an eight-match winless streak for the club that was established in 2018. The 2021 season is Austin FC’s first time competing in the MSL, the club is a member of the Western Conference.
The Q2 Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in the North Burnet section of North Austin, Texas and has a capacity to hold 20,738 spectators.
A dynamic player who can play right-back, midfield and as a striker, the Dundalk man has been in the United States for many years.
Gallagher played with the University of Notre Dame between 2014 and 2017. In his senior year, he was named as on the USC First Team All-South Region, First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference All-Tournament Team.
He has previously played with Atlanta United and Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.
Gallagher joined Austin FC before the beginning of the current season.
