Etichetă: Nashville SC

Image: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Watching B.J. Callaghan from inside Geodis Park on Wednesday night told a story of frustration and confusion, confirming plenty of work needs to be done to rescue a sinking Nashville SC squad that hasn’t earned a point in any competition since June 22.

Nashville retained 66% of the ball in its Leagues Cup clash with Mazatlán FC in Callaghan’s Nashville SC debut, but rarely advanced the ball. The Boys in Gold managed seven shots, only one of which was directed on target, and the new gaffer was clearly frustrated by his group’s early refusal to attack.

He frequently threw his arms in the air and suggested with his hands to move the ball forward, pleading for his players to put pressure on the opposition. A defeated sigh and quick 360-degree turn to lock eyes with his assistants were frequent reactions to his midfield playing a ball back to its center-backs rather than opt for an aggressive pass.

Callaghan preached maintaining a high line, something the Boys in Gold did well throughout most of the match despite needing the occasional ushering of bodies up the pitch by Callaghan from the technical area following a clearance.

These reactions are indicative of two things. First, Callaghan truly wants to play attacking soccer. Every coach says they do during interviews and in press conferences, but it is easy to revert to safe tactics and defending in your club debut. Second, Nashville SC does not know how to play that brand of aggressive, attacking soccer that Callaghan so desperately desires to play.

With incessant backward passes and attackers regularly forced to play with their backs to the goal due to slow, indecisive build up play, new blood will need to be brought into the locker room that fit Callaghan’s scheme — and players that do not will need to be sent elsewhere.

Three Takeaways from the Match

1) Patrick Yazbek Excites in Debut

The boss was not the only Nashville man to make his club debut on Wednesday. Patrick Yazbek impressed in his inaugural outing, moving the ball with ease and delivering 13 passes into the final third. His off-ball movement was excellent to boot, frequently finding himself along the sideline or in open space after dishing the ball to a teammate in an effort to spark a forward move.

While his defense left a bit to be desired (winning only two of 10 duels), the Australian provided an energy in the middle of the pitch that Nashville has severely lacked this season, especially when paired with Amar Sedjić in the second half who had a brilliant showing of his own.

2) Fearful Defending

Both of Mazatlán’s goals were courtesy of its 19-year-old winger Ramiro Arciga. Each strike was worthy of finding the back of the net, although the first took a deflection of Dan Lovitz. In both instances, Lovitz and Jack Maher played far too passively.

Both defenders allowed Arciga to run directly at them as they continued to backpedal, ultimately getting caught on their back foot and creating an easy shooting lane for the opposition. Had Lovitz taken a step towards his defender in either scenario, perhaps he could have disrupted Arciga’s run.

Being more afraid of making a mistake in one-on-one defending scenarios than getting beaten has been commonplace among Nashville’s backline this season. Considering Callaghan’s aggressive mentality, we will see if he encourages his players to risk a step towards an attacker to cut down on free real estate afforded to him.

3) Things Will Take Time

While I would like to say I was shocked to see several complaints about Callaghan and calls for a new head coaching search to commence on Instagram and X following the match, that’s how sports are — fans want to win, and they want to win now.

That being said, Nashville SC faces a plethora of problems that need to be solved, not the least of which is needing to overhaul its roster. It is absurd to expect this club to turn around overnight, and I would not expect the results to improve drastically until Callaghan and Jacobs get the chance to retool the squad in the offseason.

However, fans were afforded a glimpse of what Nashville SC soccer could look like in 2025 — high lines, midfielders who are strong on the ball and an urge from its head coach to advance the ball. Possession isn’t good enough for Callaghan. He wants to create chances and force the opposition into the same defending predicaments Nashville has been thrusted into time and time again this season.

Expect plenty more changes over the final few months of the season. Callaghan needs to assess his players under match pressure, not just on the training pitch. I bet we see plenty more of Yazbek in the upcoming matches as Callaghan asses his midfield pairing options to conclude 2024.

It’s an exciting time for Nashville SC, but there will be losses. Likely many more of them.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Nashville SC

An ugly match for Nashville SC against New York Red Bulls played out on Saturday night for both sides as Nashville failed to threaten New York’s goal. Meanwhile, Red Bulls likely feel unlucky to walk away from the match with only one point after drawing an ineffective Nashville side, 0-0.

Several key players were unavailable for Nashville with Copa America 2024 set to commence next week, and as Saturday proved, interim head coach Rumba Munthali will quickly need to account for his side’s vacancies — Saturday’s performance proved Nashville’s current squad does not provide enough firepower to get the job done and win matches in Major League Soccer with zero shots on target.

Initial Thoughts

On paper, a Nashville result was going to be tricky from the onset. New York came into the match in search of sole possession of third place in the East while the Boys in Gold were clawing for the ninth playoff spot. With Shaq Moore, Aníbal Godoy and Jacob Shaffelburg all unavailable for selection due to international obligations, Munthali’s squad entered Saturday’s contest already at a disadvantage.

Nashville’s win over FC Cincinnati in its last road match marked only the first win of the season for Nashville away from Geodis Park, and having never beaten Red Bulls in MLS play, a win on Saturday appeared especially daunting.

However, two weeks of rest between matches could have proved a difference maker for Nashville as New York was forced into action the weekend prior at New England, a match that resulted in an undesirable 1-0 outcome for Sandro Schwarz’s side and disrupted a two-match win streak for the club from Harrison, New Jersey.

The Run of Play

There is relatively little to say about the first half from a Nashville SC perspective other than the Boys in Gold were outshot 9-0, equating a precise 0.0 xG for Nashville. Sam Surridge was limited to only 13 touches up top while Hany Mukhtar made himself marginally more available with 14. That is not a recipe for a successful outing for Nashville.

It appeared Red Bulls had opened the scoring in the 25’ minute, but 2021 Nashville man Dylan Nealis’ goal was overturned due to a handball call in which the near goalscorer was ruled the denier of his own success.

Throughout the second half, Nashville was forced to defend for its life. Suffocating pressure from New York from the 45’ minute forward pinned Nashville deep within its own half. Another Red Bulls goal was overturned midway through the period while Surridge and Mukhtar were forced to play more defense than offense.

Had it not been for strong shifts put in by Nashville’s entire backline plus Dru Yearwood and goalkeeper Joe Willis, the match could have easily swung in favor of Red Bells.

There is not much else to detail about Saturday’s match — Nashville SC defended with everything it had throughout much of the match, but failed to guide a single attempt on target.

Three Takeaways From the Match

1) Nashville SC desperately needs find a solution to the absences of Shaffelburg, Moore and Godoy. The club was unable to threaten in any capacity on Saturday night, just as it failed to provide any offensive pressure in the run of play last time out vs. New England for 62 minutes without Shaffelburg on the pitch. As has been the case throughout the season, Nashville’s limited depth will be tested over the next five weeks or so, and if Saturday is any indication of how its depth will fair, Nashville’s bench may not have a second-half spark to provide.

2) The shot discrepancy between the two sides read 22-6 in favor of Red Bulls with the home side steering six of its attempts on target. Conversely, Nashville failed to put a single shot on goal. Not only did Nashville fail to score, but it never once threatened at any point during the match.

3) As poorly as Nashville’s offense played, the club earned a point against a top-three club in the East — there is something to be said for that. Its defense showed up in a huge way and thwarted a New York side averaging 1.7 goals per match, providing a meager silver lining to the evening. Walker Zimmerman put in a strong shift with three blocks and five clearances, while Dan Lovitz and Josh Bauer combined for 11 clearances and won 83% of their tackles.

Man of the Match

Dru Yearwood had another solid outing for Nashville SC. In addition to his second-half takeaway and charge up the middle of the pitch which led to a squandered chance from Surridge, Yearwood won eight of his 12 duels, made five recoveries and passed the ball into Ney York’s final third five times.

As Nashville’s offense sputtered, Yearwood was the only man to create a true scoring opportunity for his side.

Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Saturday night’s match will be defined by two words for Nashville SC — “so close.”

On two occasions, it seemed almost certain that the Boys and Gold would manage to salvage a point after going down 2-0 to the New England Revolution. However, a saved penalty kick off the boot of Hany Mukhtar and a deflection that bounced off the post in the 90+3’ minute kept Nashville’s equalizer off the board, resulting in Nashville losing to the lowest club in the table, 2-1.

Initial Thoughts

Despite entering the match riding a four-match unbeaten streak, Saturday almost felt like a must-win for Nashville. The Boys and Gold were at home against a Revolution squad that had managed only seven points through 13 matches, the worst mark in Major League Soccer. New England had scored nine goals on the season, conceded 26 times and managed only three wins.

Nashville attacked early, pressing high and breaking quickly, just as it did in Wednesday night’s win over Cincinnati. The central midfield duo of Sean Davis and Aníbal Godoy once again ventured further of the pitch and supplemented the attack as it did in its previous outing. Unfortunately, this advanced position in tandem with a Nashville turnover and soft defending is what led to New England’s second goal of the match.

Jacob Shaffelburg was also sorely missed in Nashville’s Starting XI. The Canadian was subbed on in the 62’ minute, and while Alex Muyl and Tyler Boyd were sufficient enough on the wings (combining for five shots and four chances created), the spark that Shaffelburg supplies his squad is unique and was not replicated by the others.

Upon the conclusion of the match, Nashville finished with 3.36 xG compared to New England’s 0.63 xG. To come away with nothing after registering nearly three expected goals more than the opposition is the type of thing that will keep Nashville and its fans up at night.

The Run of Play

New England needed only 18 minutes to find the opening goal, and of course it was the 2021 MLS MVP who accounted for the score, Carlos Gil. Lackadaisical defending and ball chasing by four or five members of the Nashville defense was to blame on the play as Gil ran parallel to the 18-yard-box. Each Nashville man passed the gifted Gil off to the next man, but nobody initiated a tackle as Gil found a shooting lane and buried his shot.

Three minutes later, Alex Muyl nearly equalized right in front of goal, but his shot rose well clear the crossbar. The attempt was worth 0.52 xG.

A first half that did not go Nashville’s way quickly turned disastrous in the second half when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic doubled the visitors’ lead in the 51’ minute. Again, Nashville failed to engage with a Revolution attacker and paid the price as Bajraktarevic took the space allotted him and delivered for his side.

Chaos immediately ensued when Nashville promptly charged back down the pitch, and amid a plethora of blocked shots, Shaq Moore’s attempt pinged off the hand of a New England defender. Referee Ismail Elfath pointed to the spot and flashed New England a red card for the denial of a clear and obvious goalscoring opportunity, but following video review, the red card was correctly rescinded in favor of a yellow card.

Not only did the Revolution escape playing the remainder of the match with 10 men, but Hany Mukhtar’s penalty attempt was saved, keeping the scoreline at 2-0.

However, New England would be whistled for another penalty in the 78’ minute against Walker Zimmerman, and this time, Mukhtar made no mistake. Mukhtar looked the goalkeeper right and opted to send his shot left, tunneling his shot into the bottom corner of the net.

An equalizer evaded Nashville by an inch in the 90+3’ minute when a Mukhtar shot deflected off a New England defender and off the post. The ricochet fell to Shaffelburg whose follow-up was subsequently blocked and guided to safety.

Key Takeaways

1) Nashville’s defenders looked incredibly timid in one-on-one defending scenarios apart from Walker Zimmerman. While a defender does not want to be circumvented mid-lunge when acting as the final man between the shooter and the goal, far too much space was allotted to New England with the ball and Nashville paid for its lack of aggression.

2) Very little of the creativity that Nashville SC displayed in Wednesday’s win was evident vs. New England. Sam Surridge only totaled six touches inside the Revolution’s penalty area and Mukhtar was covered tightly from the starting whistle, unable to create and facilitate Nashville’s transition offense. Rumba Munthali and his coaching staff will be hard at work to unlock those two ahead of a tough matchup with New York Red Bulls in two weeks.

3) This loss for Nashville is one of its worst losses in recent memory, right alongside the 5-0 thrashing it suffered in Los Angeles on March 23. To follow up its odds-defying win over Cincinnati four days ago with this performance, a performance in which it left so much on the table against the worst club in the league, will require a confidence-inspiring bounce back of epic proportions.

3.5) Here’s a bonus one for you. It’s not very professional, but perfectly sums up this match — Nashville SC did not deserve to win, but was almost unlucky not to win at the same time. That’s soccer baby.

Man of the Match

Walker Zimmerman earns our Man of the Match vote here. The captain was terrific, winning 15 of his 18 duels, 67% of his tackles, logging five clearances and making six recoveries. Zimmerman also blocked a shot and earned a penalty for Nashville to boot.

Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

As change runs rampant through Nashville SC, a daunting matchup between second-place FC Cincinnati and a Nashville SC side outside the playoff picture played out in Southwest Ohio on Wednesday night. Nashville entered the match with plenty to prove against its regional rivals who rode Major League Soccer’s longest active win streak into the contest.

A gutsy, attack-minded attitude underlined every move Nashville SC made in the match, a performance that earned the club its first road win of the season and Rumba Munthali his first win as interim head coach.

All of a sudden, a struggling Nashville side rife with turmoil now finds itself undefeated in its last four outings and on the cusp of a playoff spot.

Initial Thoughts

Immediately, Nashville’s lineup reflected that of a midweek rest for several players who ran heavy in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with CF Montreal. Dru Yearwood and Brian Anunga took over for Sean Davis and Aníbal Godoy in the center of the pitch. Up top, Alex Muyl replaced Tyler Boyd while Teal Bunbury manned the No. 9 position for Sam Surridge.

Considering the lineup, being the only club to dismiss its head coach during the season and its opponent entering the match one win shy of MLS’ second-longest winning streak in league history, a single point would have likely felt like a victory for the Boys in Gold away from home.

However, a blistering opening and a clear tactical pivot by Rumba Munthali to press high and throw bodies forward after being shut out four days ago resulted in perhaps Nashville’s highlight win of the season.

The Run of Play

Nashville got off to about as perfect of a start as any fan would dream of. It split the possession with the hosts over the first 25 minutes of play and looked like an entirely different group with the ball at its feet than it did the match prior. Brilliant defending and recoveries from Brian Anunga thwarted two strong attempts from Cincinnati early, keeping thing level until Nashville’s second corner kick of the match.

In the 25’ minute, Hany Mukhtar whipped in a beauty from the corner flag as Maher wiggled into position inside the box. Fighting through bodies and dipping his head to connect with the ball, the center-back drove his header into the ground and through traffic, ultimately bouncing into the net for his first of the season.

Four minutes later, Jacob Shaffelburg scored his first league goal of the season off yet another sensational Hany Mukhtar assist. The play started with a brilliant dispossess by Dru Yearwood in the middle of the pitch, and rather than immediately pass the ball to its backline as it so often does, the ball moved froward and caught the hosts out of position. Mukhtar advanced the ball, found the Canadian international in acres of space on the left wing, and Shaffelburg put enough pace on his shot to deflect off keeper Roman Celentano and into the goal.

Within just 29 minutes, Nashville matched its road goal total since the start of the 2024 MLS campaign.

The second half primarily feature Nashville SC defending against a rabid Cincinnati attack, and they did so in a way that resembled 2023’s best defense in the league. Cincinnati peppered Joe Willis’ goal 14 times over the last 45 minutes and forced four saves from the keeper, and Nashville was clinical in virtually every one-on-one defending scenario.

Three Key Takeaways

1) First, Nashville played with a confidence it had not displayed in weeks, something two early goals will inspire. Its midfielders were not afraid to move forward, its passing in tight areas and while under pressure from Cincinnati was impeccable and its first three substitutions — Josh Bauer, Tyler Boyd and Brent Kallman — all made immediate impacts.

2) Hany Mukhtar was able to play as a true No. 10. As of late, the former MVP has been forced to the back of Nashville’s 4-2-3-1 formation to get the ball at his feet. On Wednesday night, he was able to stay high, play unselfishly and find his attacking support in dangerous areas rather than around the midline. This is the version of Hany Mukhtar that is critical for Nashville to score goals and climb the table.

3) The curse is broken. Nashville SC finally won its first match away from Geodis Park this season, something that took the club seven road matches to do. With its next match at home vs. the last-place New England Revolution on Saturday, this midweek victory could spark a midseason run for the Boys in Gold in middle Tennessee.

Man of the Match

With two assists, four chances created and three shots, you would be hard pressed to pick anybody but Hany Mukhtar. Despite quality efforts from the likes of Maher, Zimmerman, Shaffelburg and Yearwood, Mukhtar looked like his MVP-caliber-self and made the difference in the match.

Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

Nashville SC was embarrassed last time out, suffering a 5-0 defeat at the hands of LAFC, although fans across middle Tennessee likely need no reminding of the scoreline. Talk of Gary Smith’s ability as the gaffer as well as the lack of squad depth that GM Mike Jacobs and company complied heading into the season is at an all-time high. The good news is that both Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar appear to have fully regained their fitness, but Nashville is still missing one critical man that is hindering Smith’s ability to play his preferred back-four formation — Walker Zimmerman.

While it is comforting to think that Nashville’s defensive woes will be cured upon the captain’s return, that likely won’t be the case. Nashville has been outscored 10-2 over its previous three matches and the return of one player won’t fix numbers like those overnight. Last weekend, Brent Kallman played well all things considered as Zimmerman’s stand-in. Despite the veteran’s performance, Nashville was a disaster across the back with individual errors, unforced turnovers and sloppy play across the board dooming the club before LAFC’s strong performance was even factored into the equation. Not to mention, a red card flashed in the direction of GK Joe Willis in the 62′ minute didn’t help either.

Don’t forget, Nashville SC will be without Zimmerman for much of the summer should he be called up by Greg Berhalter to represent the USMNT at Copa América in June. The squad needs to figure out how to defend without Zimmerman, and doing so before his summer absence is almost a necessity.

While Zimmerman likely remains out, Jacob Shaffelburg and Aníbal Godoy returned to Nashville this past week after international stints with Canada and Panama respectively and will be available for selection.

Nashville must eliminate unforced errors and attack if they want to compete against a side as menacing in possession as Columbus. Counter-attacking has proved successful against the Crew in the past, but given the current form of Nashville’s defense, Smith’s side must play with the ball at its feet and create regular pressure for its opposition — long balls to Surridge and a prayer won’t be enough against a Wilfried Nancy-coached squad.

Nashville has it work cut out for itself against the reigning MLS champions who have picked up where the left off so far in 2024, but within the confines of Gedois Park, the Boys in Gold always have a solid shot at three points.

Scouting Columbus Crew (10 Pnts, 4th in East)

The Crew are coming off a maddening 2-0 defeat that featured some of the most shocking referring and what might be the most chaotic first half in MLS so far this season. From red cards to missed hand balls to overturned goals to suspect penalty decisions, Wilfried Nancy’s group surely felt his side was done wrongly. That being said, the loss was the first for the Crew since its second match of the 2023 playoffs. Since that loss to Atlanta United, Columbus has posted an 8W-1L-2D record, outscored its opponents 20-10 and added a Philip F. Anschutz Trophy to its cabinet.

Cucho has been terrific for Columbus with three goals and one assist through five matches, and to Columbian nearly had his fourth score until it was overturned for offsides. The Canadian Jacen Russell-Rowe has two goals on the year and Aidan Morris is the only other man to find the net for the Crew in 2024, both of whom just returned to Columbus this past week from international duty as well.

Projected Starting XI

Surridge
Boyd | Mukhtar
Lovitz | Godoy | Davis | Moore
Maher | MacNaughton | Bauer
Pannico

Gary Smith likely employs a three-back system once again on Saturday night with Dan Lovitz and Shaq Moore as wing-backs. Aníbal Godoy and Sean Davis roam the middle with with Tyler Boyd and Hany Mukhtar swapping sides when in possession.

Alexy Muyl and Jacob Shaffelburg are likely the first two off the bench.