Through a first half that saw plenty of action, but no goals, Nashville SC seemed to play with one of the most talented teams in MLS. Even in the second half, an Atlanta United goal was answered in short order by one from forward Ropapa Mensah, In the end though, defensive miscues from the second-unit backline allowed Atlanta to pull away, and they left First Tennessee Park with a 3-1 victory over the home side.
In front of 9,059 fans though, the Boys in Gold – and yes, after weeks of sandbagging from the club’s PR arm, the Boys were indeed in Gold – showed that they’re ready to compete this season, standing up to a strong Five Stripes contingent for the better part of 70 minutes.
The first half was back-and-forth, with plenty of deep penetration by each team’s offensive personnel, but few legitimate chances. On one, Atlanta’s Ezequiel Barco (the most expensive signing in MLS history) danced through traffic and fed US international Darlington Nagbe. Nagbe’s 15th-minute strike rang off the post, and both sides settled in.
The second half would be a different story. A wholesale change for Nashville SC (and nearly one for Atlanta, which left some stars, including Nagbe and Josef Martinez on the pitch) saw a shift from three men at the back to a four-man backline led to some sketchy moments – aided by standing water on the grass covering the dirt infield of the baseball diamond, with back-passes to keeper CJ Cochran stopping dead in no-man’s land.
The first instance came from the foot of Liam Doyle, and stopped feet away from Cochran. Martinez flew in for the cool finish. Several minutes later, Doyle would initiate a forward push on a beautiful long-ball to backup striker Tucker Hume, who nodded it along to brand new signing Alan Winn. Winn carried into the box behind the defense and found teammate Ropapa Mensah at the top of the box. A chip over the keeper, and Mensah had leveled the score – and earned himself Man of the Match honors.
The shaky defense would prevent NSC from getting a result in this one, though. A miscommunication between the centerback pairing of Liam Doyle and Jordan Dunstan failed to adequately cover an odd-man rush, and Nagbe fed forward Brandon Vazquez to put the Five Stripes back on top. Moments later, Dunstan was alone in front of his own goal, and didn’t realize Romario Williams was there as well: an attempted pass out of danger instead went directly into it, and Williams finished on the open net.
NSC showed there are plenty of signs of life going forward. They also showed that there’s work to be done, especially throughout the defensive depth chart. They’ll have the chance to continue developing with a pair of MLS friendlies – and one against USL competition – on a trip to Florida, beginning with the Chicago Fire Feb. 21.
Match events
24′ Yellow ATL – Julian Gressel
35′ Yellow Nash – Michael Cox
58′ Goal ATL – Josef Martinez
64′ Goal Nash – Ropapa Mensah (from Alan Winn)
74′ Goal ATL – Brandon Vazquez (from Darlington Nagbe)
78′ Goal ATL – Romario Williams
Club and Country 