Nashville SC’s Scoring Woes Continue After Loss To Philadelphia

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Walker Zimmerman. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

For the fourth time in five games, Nashville SC has lost without scoring a goal as they dropped another three points to Philadelphia Union at GEODIS Park on Wednesday night (July 12).

The loss was one of the most frustrating games Nashville has played all season and can be argued one of their worst performances in club history. The Boys in Gold were able to create some excellent opportunities but seemed like they couldn’t buy a goal. In the 52nd minute, Hany Mukhtar chipped the goalkeeper and hit the crossbar, nearly equalizing. In the 69th minute, Fafà Picault hit the left post on a chaotic corner kick sequence that saw Nashville earn two to three more opportunities that were blocked by Union defenders. In the 74th minute, Nashville earned a penalty for a handball in the box, only for it to be called back after a VAR review.

Moments from Randal Leal, Teal Bunbury and Lukas MacNaughton weren’t capitalized on. Outside of last week’s 2-0 win over D.C. United, Nashville has lost 1-0 to Montreal F.C., 2-0 to Columbus Crew and 1-0 to a very poor Chicago Fire side. But Wednesday’s loss just really put into perspective what needs to happen before fans can start to worry. They were creating chances and opportunities but just struggled to connect anything, especially in the second half.

“There were a couple of things that were very very influential here tonight, our lack of clinical edging in front of goal, opportunities to get our noses in front and in a tight game, that was always going to be important,” said head coach Gary Smith in a postgame press conference. “In the second half, I think we started very well, again with some opportunities to get back on level terms, and maybe make a bit of a game with it.”

On top of all these issues scoring, Nashville lost two players due to red cards with Daniel Lovitz receiving two yellow cards, both in the penalty box followed by Philly’s two goals, and Shaq Moore who received a straight red after getting into a physical altercation with Philadelphia’s Julian Carranza who was also sent off. Now NSC will be playing against the league’s best Cincinnati FC without their fullbacks. But this brings up another aspect of Wednesday’s game which was over 90 minutes of poor officiating from referee Sergii Boiko. Smith made his frustrations very clear, pointing out the inconsistency of calls on both teams.

“I think it was clear for everyone to see in the crowd that this inexperienced referee, which is what he is, I think we looked and he had 10 games in MLS, looked way way out of his depth tonight,” said Smith. “And it wasn’t just some of the decisions that were made regarding penalties, I in fact felt that they were both penalties against us. It certainly looked as if they were clear cut fouls, but that’s not what I’m criticizing here. There were so many other decisions within the run of play.”

Smith pointed out a handful of calls and non-calls that he couldn’t believe Boiko made which allowed the game to get out of hand due to the fact that some players took advantage, said Smith.

“There were so many different situations that he just looked flummoxed about. There were clear cut fouls that we made, that were so obviously fouls that he just let go,” said Smith. “And what happens then is, you’ve got a serious game here, two vs. four (in the standings) three points behind us, game in hand for Philadelphia, it was always going to be competitive because of that reason. We’ve had very good games against Philly in the past, so expect there’s going to be a like minded game, you’ve got to have somebody in the middle who’s going to be strong enough to deal with that situation. And it was obvious from minute one that he (Boiko) just couldn’t quite appreciate what a foul was, consistency within making those decisions and then of course the game gets aways from him.”

The next step for the Boys in Gold is to move on from this regrettable performance and try to prepare for top-seated Cincy. Trying to find a way to finish scoring opportunities while in the middle of this cold stretch and without your two fullbacks (Moore and Lovitz) is going to be extremely difficult but they have to make something work for Saturday (July 15).

“We haven’t scored a goal in four out of the last five games and I think tonight is more of a unique situation for all of the things we’ve spoken about. But there is no doubt about it, if we’re going to fight for the top four, if we’re going to be in a good spot, we’ve got to get something out of the game,” said Smith.

“And as I look back on a lot of games that I’ve been involved in, if you’re creating chances there’s always an opportunity for those guys to break through that barrier of disappointment and frustration and get themselves on a roll. If you’re not creating chances, that’s a totally different story.”

Nashville SC will visit Cincinnati this weekend to take on their rival in a game where NSC needs to pull out points.

Steven Boero
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