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USL Nashville SC

Analysis: Ropapa Mensah Continues to Make An Impact off the Bench

April 18, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - Since joining Nashville Soccer Club for its inaugural season in 2018, forward Ropapa Mensah has made a tremendous impact on the pitch and quickly become a fan favorite off the pitch.

That impact continued on Saturday against Memphis 901 FC when he notched an assist and a goal in a second-half appearance in Nashville's 2-0 win. On his assist, he held up the ball off a throw-in and sent a great ball forward for Matt LaGrassa to finish. Mensah scored his goal with a persistent second-chance effort off of a set piece.

"I'm absolutely delighted from the corner, the flick, and Ropapa's finish at the back post," said Head Coach Gary Smith. "The substitutes, as I've said, I felt made a difference. They injected some energy and some life into what had been a good attack, but probably needed a little bit of help. I couldn't have been more pleased how the players have performed, and of course the way the game went."

While Mensah has been effective both as a starter and as a second-half substitute, he has been particularly potent as a "supersub."

As a substitute, Mensah has scored four goals and earned three assists across all competitions, and he earned those in just 101 minutes on the pitch across the matches in which he has registered a point.

Meanwhile, as a starter, he scored three goals and added three assists in 489 minutes on the pitch across the matches in which he has registered a point.

That means that Mensah has been more productive in his minutes as a substitute than his minutes as a starter. Regardless of his time on the pitch, he still has more points as a substitute than as a starter.

Mensah has also scored some of the iconic goals in club history as a substitute as well. His match-winner on the last touch of the match against North Carolina FC on June 16 vs. North Carolina FC sent First Tennessee Park into a frenzy. Mensah also scored on his first touch of the U.S. Open Cup match against Colorado Rapids to secure the upset over an MLS foe.

That's not to say that Mensah has not done well as a starter, and his three goals and three assists as a starter bear that out. However, with Nashville's forward group including Daniel Rios, Cameron Lancaster and Tucker Hume off to a solid start to the season when they are in the Starting XI, Mensah could continue to provide a spark off the bench and give the team a lift when they're clawing for a goal in the late stages of a match.

Because as the numbers show, crunch time is when Mensah thrives.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 18, 2019


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