Match Recap: Nashville SC cool off from red-hot run, play out scoreless draw with DC United
With a rotated side, likely with one eye on a midweek trip to Orlando, Nashville SC prepared to welcome home Randall Leal and his DC United on Saturday night. A disallowed goal would be the only serious action in the game, as it finished scoreless.
Let’s dive in.
Lineup
Joe Willis started in goal once again, and in front of him was a rotated backline featuring Josh Bauer, Jack Maher, Dan Lovitz and homegrown signing Chris Applewhite, making his first MLS start just hours after graduating from high school.
The midfield was a trio in this one, featuring Eddi Tagseth, Patrick Yazbek and Gastón Brugman supporting a front three of Hany Mukhtar, Ahmed Qasem and Teal Bunbury.
Off the bench, Bryan Acosta, Andy Najar, Sam Surridge, Jacob Shaffelburg and Alex Muyl saw some action.
The Numbers
Nashville SC
Shots: 8
Shots on goal: 5
Corners: 5
Possession: 54.2%
Yellow Cards: 2 (Sam Surridge, Patrick Yazbek)
DC United
Shots: 3
Shots on goal: 1
Corners: 1
Possession: 45.8%
Yellow Cards: 2 (Matti Peltola, Luis Barraza)
Analysis
Look, I didn’t want to bore you with a Between the Whistles that didn’t contain very much. Outside of the disallowed Hany Mukhtar goal in the 13th minute, that frankly I think shouldn’t have been disallowed, not a lot happened.
Nashville knew they could get a result without getting out of 2nd gear in this one, and the starting lineup tells the same story. Sure, the “best 11” of the last few weeks all played, many of them 90 minutes, but there was a good bit of rotation in spots.
Not only did they know they could get a result in 2nd gear, they went out and did it. Just a very nothing game, that you’d loved to have gotten a win in. However, if you told me last weekend that Nashville would pick up four points from six between the games against the Red Bulls and DC United, I’d have said that’s about right. I just probably would have guessed wrong which game was a 2-1 win and which was a 0-0 draw.
That doesn’t make it any less successful of a week however. Thanks to Orlando’s win over Miami, Nashville for now stays in 4th in the Eastern Conference.
Now all eyes turn to a midweek US Open Cup Round of 16 tie with those very Lions who helped Nashville’s table position out. Orlando was forced to play a stronger side from the jump against the Herons in Miami, but the game was done and dusted early enough that rotation could happen anyway.