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USL Nashville SC

Nashville SC Preparing for High-Octane Showdown with New York Red Bulls II

June 25, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Nashville SC News Release


NASHVILLE - If you like goals, you might want to make your way to First Tennessee Park on Wednesday night.

Wednesday night's match will pit two of the top offensive sides in the USL Championship against each other in Nashville Soccer Club and New York Red Bulls II. The two clubs sit atop the Eastern Conference in goals scored, with NYBII narrowly leading with 31 to Nashville's 30. Head Coach Gary Smith is planning for a fast-paced attack from the Baby Bulls, who drew 1-1 with Nashville SC at home back in March.

"I'd like to think that we can consistently think about our opponent when we've played them before and maybe some of the tendencies that they have," Smith said. "If you look at these two teams, and I'm only repeating myself, they tend to have a philosophy from the first team down. I think this team do it better than any other, which is to press, to re-press, and to play with a sort of energy and fearless nature that you don't often see. They leave defenders like-for-like at the back, and we've done that quite a bit in the last couple of games as well. But, they do play in a fearless fashion and it gets them rewards at both levels. We'll be very thoughtful about that. I thought we did a good job in New York. The big difference I believe will be the surface, the size of it, the nature of the field. Plastic does make it quicker and more difficult. I think there will be more control for both sides, and it should make for a very good game."

In the last few matches for Nashville SC, the goals have been flowing with 10 goals scored in three matches. However, Smith is not satisfied with his team's performance defensively, having given up six goals in that same stretch, including a first-half goal in each of the last three matches. While Smith is happy with the offensive creativity his team is producing, he hopes the players can continue to do that while patching up the back line.

That all comes down to the mindset of the group throughout the 90 minutes of play.

"We've created a lot of chances, scored three goals, and we looked incredibly bright going forward, and there was a different dimension to the group, a different mindset. However, when you force the issue in that fashion, and we've been trying to tip the scales towards a more creative game, we've forgotten, we've been less focused, we're more stretched out, and that's understandable because we're trying to create space to score goals and be positive. It means that as soon as you lose the ball, there's a reaction, there's a change of mindset, there's a change of intensity. All of the things that go with being a good defending side have suddenly got to come back into that natural mindset.

"I have no doubt that this group have got all of the qualities to have the right balance. However, the pendulum did go too far one way. I said it at the weekend, we did leave ourselves exposed. There have been some clips that we've looked at, and they're just the distances between the groups are too big. We're all about what's happening there, re-gaining, keep the pressure on, which is wonderful. But there's a time and a place, and I think we've just got to get the balance right again and hopefully a couple of the things we've done in the last day or two. Not a lot of time but maybe even something to take into the game mentally rather than practically that we're going to have to work on."

NYRBII is a fast attacking side that look to press forward and make defending difficult. However, the team has struggled to win matches on the road, winning just two so far this season away from home, and both against non-playoff teams. Defender Bradley Bourgeois is ready to run hard and face their challenging style, but also feels confident in the group's ability to take a win at home.

"They're young, they're energetic, they like to press, they are high-energy all the time," Bourgeois said. "They make it difficult to play out for sure because they commit so many numbers. I think they're beatable, as we saw last weekend. It's just kind of just another step towards where we want to go."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Don't miss the last opportunity to see the Boys in Gold at home this month.

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