Two chances, two goals
Austin barely had the ball in Vancouver. Christian Ramirez did not need much of it. He scored twice, Austin won 2-1 in the early hours of Monday morning, and the Western Conference leaders were left picking through what went wrong.
The first goal was a counter off a training-ground diagram. Brad Stuver claimed a loose ball in his box after a Vancouver corner. The keeper did not stop to think, rolling it out by hand to the left for Jon Gallagher, who was already gone. Gallagher picked out Facundo Torres on the move, Torres cut it back to the far post, and Ramirez finished first time past Yohei Takaoka. 28th minute.
The second came on the hour. A delivery from Joseph Rosales, a secondary assist from Erin Torres, another first-time finish. Takaoka beaten again.
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Gauld hit the bar from the spot and Austin never looked back
Vancouver had the better of long stretches. Brian White had already forced a save from Stuver inside ten minutes.
Then, on 40 minutes, Besard Sabovic brought down Ryan Gauld in the box. Penalty. Gauld hammered it off the crossbar.
The reprieve lasted four minutes into the second half. White collected a Gauld pass, slalomed through the Texas defence and poked it in at the base of the right post with Stuver getting a hand to it. 1-1.
Six minutes of added time, and a man short
Guilherme Biro collected a second yellow late on. So Austin spent six minutes of stoppage time down to ten, with Vancouver piling bodies forward. They held.
That takes the Texans to 29 points and six matches unbeaten, three wins and three draws.
Vancouver stay top of the West on 46 points. Their cushion over Houston is down to three, and their last seven games read four wins, three defeats.
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