US Open Cup Match Recap: Nashville SC storm back, demolish DC United 5-2
Well, Nashville SC has extended their unbeaten streak to 15 games in all competitions, but they really made it harder for themselves than they needed to, didn’t they?
After two bad defensive sequences allowed DC to jump to a 2-0 lead courtesy of a fifth minute stunner by Gabriel Pirani and a 24th minute own goal by Jack Maher, it was all Nashville.
Jonathan Pérez started the comeback with a half volley off a deflected DC clearance in the 26th, and a Sam Surridge 53rd minute penalty leveled scores in the 53rd minute.
Then it was a quick blitz of a 15 minute period, as Pérez set up Surridge for his second of the evening in the 72nd, followed by a goal-of-the-season contender from Andy Najar in the 82nd, and a clean header from Walker Zimmerman to wrap things up in the 87th.
The win sends Nashville into the semifinals of the US Open Cup for the first time, though they won’t find out their opponent until August 13th after the other quarterfinal between Philadelphia and the New York Red Bulls was postponed due to weather.
Lineup
Brian Schwake continued his run as the club’s designated keeper in this competition, joining a more or less full strength side ahead of him.
The back four of Andy Najar, Jeisson Palacios, Jack Maher and Dan Lovitz defended his goal, behind a midfield pair of Gastón Brugman and Eddi Tagseth.
The front four remained unchanged from the win over Philadelphia at the weekend, with Jonathan Pérez’s suspension not carrying over to Open Cup play, allowing him to play alongside Alex Muyl, Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge.
Off the bench, B.J. Callaghan called on the services of Josh Bauer, Teal Bunbury, Ahmed Qasem, Patrick Yazbek, and the returning Walker Zimmerman.
The Numbers
Nashville SC
Shots: 18
Shots on goal: 8
Possession: 58%
Corners: 8
Yellow Cards: 1 (Eddi Tagseth)
DC United
Shots: 7
Shots on goal: 2
Possession: 42%
Corners: 0
Yellow Cards: 1 (David Schnegg)
Analysis
Great, great win to advance in the Open Cup. But… Saturday’s game against Miami looms large, and it’ll be interesting to see what rotation beyond swapping in Ahmed Qasem for the suspended Pérez may happen.
Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said they initially planned to rest Lionel Messi, but decided to leave him in for the full 90 minutes because of the game state. Does he start on Saturday?
Does Nashville have any drawbacks from going full strength here? That remains to be seen.
However, what a coming out party for Jonathan Pérez, who had possibly his best game in Gold to date, and recently he’s put a lot of good tape out there. Nice to see Walker Zimmerman return, and return to the scoresheet, as he’s back from national team duty.
About that other postponed quarterfinal, if Philadelphia wins, it will be in Nashville, and if Red Bull wins, it will be in New Jersey. The Final will be hosted by the winner of the semifinal between Minnesota United and Austin FC.
Regardless, we are guaranteed a first-time champion after the eliminations of the Chicago Fire and DC United respectively.
As mentioned, next up for Nashville is a Saturday trip to South Beach to take on Inter Miami, we’ll have a preview before and a recap after, see you then!