Nashville Picks Up Much Needed Win Over Seattle Sounders

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Hany Mukhtar. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

These past few weeks have been tough for Nashville SC and most fans would agree that it hasn’t been pretty to watch. But thanks to fantastic defense and some beautiful offensive footwork and passing by Randall Leal and MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar, the Boys in Gold pulled out the 1-0 win over a very good Seattle team at GEODIS Park on Wednesday night (July 13).

“The mindset going into the game was to try and be aggressive, and take the game to a fantastic Seattle team,” said head coach Gary Smith in a postgame press conference. “I think you saw that again in the lineup of the group, the shape of the group, a very attacking looking group with a back four. There was some intent in that.”

He continues, “The guys adapted incredibly well to a Seattle group that changed the way that they went about their business. I know they played that way last year, but we’ve not seen it many times from them this year. We didn’t prepare to play against a back five, and I just felt that the whole attitude and look about the group really made a statement in terms of what we were after and what we wanted to achieve in the game.”

The team looked like a completely different squad from Saturday’s terrible 4-1 loss to Charlotte where Nashville only had possession for 39 percent. The Boys in Gold turned around and played one of their best performances yet at GEODIS park.

Defensively, they looked extremely sharp with Walker Zimmerman making brilliant plays to clear the ball out of the Nashville penalty box and stopping any momentum the Sounders attempted to create. Dax McCarty also played a fantastic game with great footwork and intensity, which stifled Seattle’s midfield.

Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

But the stars of the show were Mukhtar and Leal.

Mukhtar scored in the 44th minute, which began with a Leal pass from Nashville’s defensive end to CJ Spaong up the right side. With the Seattle defense too far back to catch up, Sapong brought the ball within 2o yards of the net when he cross into the box to an uncovered Mukhtar.

“That connection yet again between CJ and Hany was the difference in the game,” Smith noted. “We’ve seen it time and time again. I’m only delighted that we’ve seen it against this top-class Seattle group tonight.”

Muktar is really making his case for the MVP with 11 goals and three assists. He is currently third in the league in goals/assists, second in the league in expected goals, and first in shots on target per 90 minutes.

But Leal has also been on the rise these past few weeks after dealing with an ankle injury which sidelined him in May. Against Seattle, he showed some brilliant footwork and a lot of finesse, coupled with his speed. It was his great efforts that led to the game-winning goal.

Because of his injury keeping him off the pitch, he’s had something to prove these past weeks which is only going to benefit the team, Smith explained. Also his motivation to get back in the Costa Rican National Team roster ahead of the FIFA World Cup is only going to make him work harder.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of these qualities when he came back from his ankle problem,” Smith shared. “I think we all wanted to try and work Randall to a point where he’s fully match-fit. You’ve seen the progression of his minutes, and we pretty much played the 90 minutes tonight. He’s been very very effective and he’s no different than any attacking player with the opportunity he has in front of him, which is to get himself back into his national team. I think he’s got the bit between his teeth, and he’s inspired to make that happen.

“He is in a very good place and he’s wanting to impress,” commented Smith.

Randall Leal. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC

With the win and the addition of three standing points, Nashville sits in third place in the the Western Conference with 30 points. However, Salt Lake is just below them also with 30 points but a -1 goal differential. Only four points separate Nashville from eight place.

GEODIS Park hasn’t been the fortress they’ve hoped it would be so far this season as they held a home record of 2-4-1 before last night’s match. Team’s have changed their approach to playing NSC in Nashville due to their recent home dominance, Mukhtar explained, making a draw to a visiting team a massive victory, of sorts.

“We have a new, fantastic stadium. It’s not always easy to build your culture in your stadium because you already have expectations,” said Mukhtar. “We earn that expectation, which is a good thing, but on the other hand, we have to play really well. We saw with Portland, Kansas, and other teams that they come here not to play offensive soccer. They come to wait for our mistakes.”

He continued, “In the first two years, I felt like it was more of clubs coming to our place to get the three points. Now, they’re coming to our place and they’re very happy with one point. We saw that with the Portland players. They were so happy with the point, but it felt like a loss for us. They had the expectation to come here and get the point, and that’s a good result for them.”

The Boys in Gold have another massive game on Sunday (July 17) as they face LAFC who’s been one of the best teams in MLS this season. It’ll be the first time the two teams will have ever faced each other, which could be a massive swing in momentum for Nashville if they can pull off the win.

Steven Boero
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