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USL Nashville SC

A Tale of Two Halves for Nashville SC in 1-1 Draw with Charlotte Independence

May 20, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - Going into halftime on Saturday night against Charlotte Independence, Nashville Soccer Club was on the front foot. Despite conceding an early goal, Nashville responded well to quickly even up the match, and continued to pressure the Charlotte net.

A winning goal in the second half seemed bound to happen, according to Head Coach Gary Smith, but one never came, and Nashville had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

"I honestly felt, having got back on level terms that quickly, that this would be the moment," Smith said. "There were really encouraging signs. When you think about some of the opportunities and the positive play that we saw in the first period, there's no reason to believe that this shouldn't be the day that we're going to recover and win a game from a goal down. It just didn't work out that way in the second half."

The numbers demonstrate the difference in quality that Smith noted between the first and second halves. In the first half, Nashville SC owned 66.3% of possession, and that dropped to 51.1% in the second half. The Boys in Gold also took 11 total shots to Charlotte's four. Nashville put three shots on target in the first half, including Lebo Moloto's equalizing goal, but were only able to put up one in the second half.

"The second half was just not at the same sort of level," Smith said. "There was a lack of sharpness, there was a lack of real passion about the lads' play. I don't know whether that's a bit of fatigue in certain areas, it's quite possible. But, the expectation for the group, all of us in that locker room, believe that we should certainly be making more of the second period, and there were just too many times that we allowed them to get off of the hook and to relieve the pressure without really asking a question. That I felt was the biggest problem. Some good opportunities, some good areas, some good moments, but just not enough quality in vital moments."

Even with the big advantage in possession and shots in the first half, Nashville still conceded a goal and only scored one. Defender Justin Davis knows the team has to be better, but also knows the squad has the capability to be better moving forward. He saw the quality the team can bring in the 5-1 drubbing of Swope Park Rangers just a week prior to the Charlotte match.

"Our start was all right," Davis said. "I don't think we were great. I think we were a little loose with some of our touches, so it wasn't as clean as we needed it to be. I think when you look at the Swope Park game, we put them away in 20 minutes, and we need to start doing that with teams here and not even giving them a chance because against the run of play, anything can happen. Like tonight, I was really proud of the effort to get right back in it right away and just our final ball really wasn't there tonight. That happens, and we've just got to clean that up and we'll be okay."

Nashville SC will have the chance for an immediate response to this frustrating draw on Wednesday on the road against Birmingham Legion FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 20, 2019


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