Saturday’s game didn’t go quite according to plan for the Boys in Gold. A lackluster first half (for both teams) and a pair of LCFC goals in the second led to a debut defeat for Nashville SC’s USL account. What went into the loss?
Tactics, formation, opponent
A combination of these three factors made for a really tough first game out of Nashville SC. First off – and I hadn’t realized this when previously writing about how much Louisville’s field was going to suck – that’s an absurdly narrow pitch. Louisville’s tactics were designed to take advantage of it, Nashville SC’s base formation was sort of neutralized with a lack of space on the wings.
That led to the wingbacks remaining up the pitch more than they have in the past – with their defensive responsibilities more in the midfield range than the defender range – the backline pushing forward because they didn’t need as much horizontal coverage so they could to more vertically, and a really congested field in the neutral and attacking thirds. This made for a tough time, because NSC couldn’t get space on the wings to cross it in (and also didn’t have the same urgency getting it out of the back that they expected to need), and had to resort to hopeful longballs way more than they’ll typically want to.
The Boys in Gold ended up in more of a 3-4-3 formation with the wingbacks true midfielders and Lebo Moloto pushed up into an offensively-oriented No. 10 role than he’s been used to this year.
Compounding all of this is the fact that Louisville is a really good team, and Nashville – while I expect them to be pretty good this season – certainly isn’t the reigning USL Champ. In a lot of ways, it was probably better to get the first of two games at Louisville out of the way in the first game of the year, since this one was likely to be a loss no matter when it came, and you might as well have the learning experience early to build.
Forwards
Since this seemed to be an area where NSC particularly struggled, I’ll begin the player ratings here. A note on my rating system: it’s proprietary, so it won’t scale to other rating systems. It’s also new (I gave it a test-run without publishing the results for the Chattanooga game), so there will be kinks to work out.
Michael Cox – 8.89 (73 minutes) – Cox was used primarily for his hold-up play, and there were some decent moments there. However, there were also giveaways (multiple defenders coming in on the narrow pitch and little support arriving from his teammates played a role), and there wasn’t the distribution or turn-and-shoot ability to turn hold-up play into more than that. He needs to continue being more physical with the ball at his feet or while receiving it in the air. He had a couple nice moments pressing high early in the game.
Robin Shroot – 6.17 (59 minutes) – Shroot is the goal-scorer to complement Cox’s hold-up play, but it didn’t come off on this day. He couldn’t get enough of the ball to make an impact, and when that happens, a second forward is sort of just out there running around (and in Shroot’s case, that running isn’t going to result in blazing by anyone). At the very least, Shroot had some really good moments of effort in the high press.
Tucker Hume – 2.38 (33 minutes) – Hume didn’t have enough time and service to make an impact on the scoresheet, but he was an upgrade in hold-up play thanks to his size (and was an aerial threat on a couple crosses, as well). The game changed when he was in, and when NSC wants a pure hold-up guy on the field, Hume should probably be the choice.
Ropapa Mensah – 1.59 (19 minutes) – Like Hume, Mensah’s playing time was too limited to get a wide-ranging view of what he provides. Of course, we’ve seen his skills during friendlies, but he seemed to be a little more tentative and less effective in the face of a tenacious defense and not a lot of space to operate. Keeping his head up and making smart passes under pressure are his next steps.
Midfield
The defensive midfielders weren’t super-involved thanks to the pitch shape and Louisville’s desire to keep the ball wide and go around, rather than through, them. Since being involved is part of my rating system, that’s part of the low scores (though they didn’t always make the most of their opportunities, either).
Lebo Moloto – 13.43 (92 minutes) – Moloto was very nearly my Man of the Match. He provided basically every credible offensive threat NSC provided, including a shot from the top of the six-yard box that went high (I still gave him credit for the volley, even if a shot on-target would likely have scored). He had some really nice skill dribbles in traffic, distributed nicely as a No. 10. With more room to operate on a wider pitch that allows the wingbacks to provide horizontal spacing, he can have some huge games going forward.
Matt LaGrassa – 7.97 (92 minutes) – LaGrassa and Reed were both very quiet in the first half, and LaGrassa did a better job asserting himself after the break by getting more involved on offense. He has a nice touch on the ball, made runs in the channels, and had some decent long-ball service. In a muddled midfield, he didn’t allow Louisville City to get anything that he wasn’t getting when the ball was in his possession.
Michael Reed – 6.67 (92 minutes) – Like LaGrassa, Reeds was on the margins of the game in the first half because Louisville City was intentionally keeping their play a little bit wider – so the centerbacks and wingbacks were a more important part of the defensive effort. Reed also made too many speculative passes forward without a specific (or at least specifically open) target in mind, and his shorter passing wasn’t totally accurate on the day.
Defenders
Ryan James – 14.57 (85 minutes) – James was my man of the match, thanks in large part to a ton of involvement on his part (which, in fairness, can also mean that the opposition wanted to attack him, but it didn’t have that feel). He was a pest along the left sideline all day, managed to get involved in the offense by making some nice runs up that flank, and tracked back to make plenty of plays inside the penalty area on a day where the width of the pitch wasn’t a liability to doing so.
Justin Davis – 13.08 (92 minutes) – While James’s involvement didn’t feel like Louisville City was going after him, at times Davis felt like the point LCFC wanted to attack. Particularly in the second half, they tried to go down that defensive left channel. He was directly involved in both goals, letting a free header turn into the first one and providing space to a runner (ultimately the crosse) on the second. He did have plenty of work getting upfield – way more involvement in the offensive third, partially a product of not needing to defend as much width when he tracked back – and got on his horse to recover. Still, it felt like a lot of dangerous moments were partially his responsibility.
Liam Doyle – 5.96 (92 minutes) – With LCFC’s attack primarily staying wide to the defensive left, Doyle didn’t have a ton of involvement in this one. He had good moments and bad, though. He fell down on a long ball to give up a Louisville break at one point, and didn’t cut out as many dangerous crosses as you’d like when he had the opportunity (though he was generally good with his head). He also had a sketchy moment or two playing with the ball at his feet, which we saw a bit in preseason. With the long-ball target area too muddled to make up for that, the game didn’t necessarily play to his skills on the offensive foot.
London Woodberry – 4.49 (92 minutes) – Woodberry was even less involved than Doyle, and lack of involvement is part of this low score. He had some nice clearances defensively, and made an important slide tackle or two. However, he totally fell asleep on Louisville City’s second goal, one of the worst moments of the day for NSC.
Kosuke Kimura – 4.33 (92 minutes) – Kimura had a really, really rough first half. The narrowness of the pitch took away one of his primary assets – a high work rate getting up and down the field and providing width both offensively and defensively. It felt like he couldn’t get into the flow of the game because of that, and his short passing was sketchy on the day with a few turnovers, and he bombed some speculative long ones that didn’t come off. he was much more settled after the break, but still allowed some dangerous crosses to get off unperturbed when it appeared he was in a good defensive position. his crosses on offense also left something to be desired.
Taylor Washington – 0.46 (7 minutes) – Don’t be fooled by a low score – it’s simply a product of Washington getting very little time on the pitch. Scaled over a full 90, it would have been close to Doyle’s score, and if he’d had a full 90 to play, a negative (one of his four events I scored) probably would have been even more outweighed with positives. He provided some vertical danger on runs up the flank when he came on, and had some really impressive first touches. Certainly earned more playing time in my eyes, especially since – like Kimura – his game will be better suited to a wider pitch.
Goalkeeper
Matt Pickens – 10.52 (92 minutes) – It’s so hard for a keeper’s score to encapsulate his performance, because they’re only involved on a handful of plays, so there’s a lot of noise. Does a nice job coming off his line to cut out a cross outweigh a goal allowed? Probably not, but the keeper is only the last line of defense on a goal, too, and isn’t solely to blame. Pickens could have done better on both LCFC tallies, but neither seemed to be mostly his fault. In the other facets of the game, he was solid.
Club and Country 