Column: Questions Begin To Surround Nashville SC Roster After Two-Straight Losses

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Dax McCarty vs FC Cincinnati. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

What could’ve been a great display of strength at home against rival FC Cincinnati wound up being an intense and extremely frustrating 1-0 loss for Nashville SC, making that two in a row.

Goalkeeper Joe Willis had an amazing game with six fantastic saves which, in the end, prevented what could’ve been a blowout. But his efforts were not enough as the Boys in Gold struggled to finish any offensive opportunities they created.

These past two games have truly proven that Hany Mukhtar can’t do it all. It begs the question, “What needs to change to increase offense?”

This isn’t a new issue to Nashville SC, as they also struggled to score last year, but thanks to Mukhtar’s 23 goals and 11 assists, Nashville made the playoffs. However, another season is here and so are the same issues. Now obviously, the season is just five weeks in so it’s nowhere near time to panic, but these concerns need to be handled before they become the norms throughout the season.

So what’s not working? It’s pretty plain to see that the offense is struggling to score, even with moments of excitement from guys like Mukhtar and Jacob Shaffelburg. Head Coach Gary Smith has built and kept Nashville SC defensive minded, which has led to early success for the club, but the more these teams play and study Nashville SC, the easier it’s getting for them to score and beat Nashville. In the last two games, Nashville SC sported a 4-2-3-1 lineup against New England and 4-4-2 lineup against Cincinnati. Both offered great defense, but offense from CJ Sapong, Teal Bunbury and Fafa Picault couldn’t do anything.

Five games in and Picault has struggled to do anything of note. He’s had some good moments against NYCFC and the Red Bulls as well as a handful of good displays against Cincy, but no goals or scoring contributions. Smith needs to find a way to get more out of Picault and have him be a setup man for Mukhtar and Shaffelburg. Moving him upfront with Mukhtar may be a better strategy against Orlando, allowing him to create with the best player on the pitch.

The absence of Randall Leal is also being felt as Leal’s work on the ball and his speed is difficult to replicate. There is no word on whether Leal is ready to return, but him being injured has definitely left a hole in the lineup. Another player suffering from early season injuries is Aníbal Godoy, who made his first appearance against Cincinnati since getting hurt in the home opener.

It has been said over and over again that Godoy has the ability to be a game-changer. He is fast, tall and very strong. His work in transitioning the midfield into offense is brilliant at times. If he can start and stay healthy, Dax McCarty can spend most of his time on the bench, as he is someone that should no longer to be relied on to work for 60 minutes again.

This Saturday (April 1) will be a very important game, the most important game of the season thus far. Nashville cannot afford to lose three-straight and picking up three points is almost a necessity.

Steven Boero
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