Match Recap: Familiar result, unfamiliar story as Nashville SC and New England Revolution draw 0-0
(Image courtesy of Nashville SC)
As the temperature in the Music City dipped below freezing on Saturday evening, the temperature inside GEODIS Park rose as the Boys in Gold prepared to embark on their sixth Major League Soccer campaign. The opponent this time was New England Revolution, and if you were to look at the box score, you’d be left thinking this was the “same old Nashville”.
However, this wasn’t exactly the case. Let’s dive in.
Lineups
(Image courtesy of Nashville SC)
Nashville rolled out a starting lineup featuring four debutants. Injuries particularly affected the midfield in the later parts of preseason, leaving head coach BJ Callaghan to start 19-year old Matthew Corcoran and 23-year old former MLS SuperDraft selection Wyatt Meyer in the middle of the park. Worth noting Meyer’s natural position is centerback.
On the wings, Eddi Tagseth and Alex Muyl provided the width for an attacking duo of Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge. At the back, Andy Najar made his first appearance in gold, joining Walker Zimmerman, Jack Maher and Dan Lovitz. In goal, Joe Willis made his 169th Nashville appearance in all competitions, extending a club record.
Fun note, if Willis remains healthy, he is on pace to become the first player in club history to 200 appearances in all competitions.
As far as substitutes, a further five players were in contention to make their Nashville debuts, with newly signed winger Ahmed Qasem being a slight surprise inclusion after receiving his visa late last week.
The Numbers
Nashville SC stats:
Shots- 13
Shots on target- 3
Possession- 50.8%
Corners- 8
xG- 0.9
Yellow Cards- 1 (Matthew Corcoran)
New England stats:
Shots- 12
Shots on target- 2
Possession- 49.2%
Corners- 4
xG- 0.7
Yellow Cards- 2 (Jackson Yueill, Mamadou Fofana)
Between the Whistles
These two teams, as mentioned in our preview, entered the season with hope and the promise of a refreshed roster. From the opening kick, both teams spent the first half feeling each other out. There were a couple good chances for Nashville; a close header from Sam Surridge and a good lashed effort from Wyatt Meyer just outside the box, but at the break neither team had broken the deadlock.
This continued past the hour mark, until finally in the 67th minute, it seemed as though Nashville had found a breakthrough. An excellent pass over the top by Meyer found Hany Mukhtar, who dribbled forward before crossing it to a wide open Surridge to head home. However, on review, Mukhtar had strayed just millimeters offside.
Mamadou Fofana thought he had won it for the visitors in the 87th, but he was also deemed offside, this time by a much wider margin.
Ahmed Qasem came on in place of Alex Muyl, and Jonathan Pérez came on for Eddi Tagseth, but with too little time remaining to make an impact. The final whistle blew, and the renewed acquaintanceship of these two clubs ended in a draw for the fifth time.
Quick Analysis
From the opening kick, Nashville looked very different in midfield than they had in years past. Much of the philosophy of former head coach Gary Smith was built around controlling space in possession to limit counter attacking opportunities if/when Nashville lost the ball. This solidified Nashville’s defense, but often left the midfield isolated, making the attack toothless if Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge couldn’t create chances on their own.
At least in this first game, the midfield felt much more connected to both the defensive and forward lines. Matthew Corcoran, the youngest player to ever start a match for Nashville, finished second on the team in completed passes with 63, just six behind Walker Zimmerman for the team lead.
Speaking of Zimmerman, who has finally had the time to adequately heal from the several small injuries he’s picked up the past 18 months or so, he seemed back to his old self. Completely dominant in the air, and attempting more line breaking passes and long balls over the top than he perhaps ever has.
The right hand side of the field was clearly Nashville’s strongest. Eddi Tagseth, Andy Najar and Hany Mukhtar showed much of the familiarity and chemistry they displayed in preseason, and much of the home side’s success was found down these channels.
There are reasons for this, namely the injuries both to central midfield and wingers like Jacob Shaffelburg. The aforementioned cameo from Qasem did afford him time to show some promise on the left (and the right too), but not enough to really hang your hat on just yet.
There’s something to this Nashville team that makes this 0-0 much more palatable than similar results in years gone by, and BJ Callaghan will have to build on it moving forward. Nashville’s next game is on the road against the New York Red Bulls. Nashville has only won one game at Red Bull Arena in their history, and they were playing CF Montréal on that day in 2020.