NASHVILLE - Nashville Soccer Club brought the home cookin’ on Sunday night.
The Boys in Gold earned a 1-0 victory over fellow 2020 Major League Soccer expansion side Inter Miami CF (1W-6L-0D) at Nissan Stadium. Midfielder Anibal Godoy’s screamer in the 53’ minute was the difference in the match.
Miami took 18 shots throughout the match, but Nashville blocked 10 and saved five of them.
Nashville SC (2W-4L-1D) and Inter Miami CF traded chances early as both earned corner kicks in the first 10 minutes, but neither created any scoring chances. Nashville thought it was able to get on the board in the 17’ minute off the head of Alex Muyl, but the goal was called off by VAR due to a foul in the box.
Miami earned a couple of chances in the 26’ minute as a shot was blocked by defender Alistair Johnston and cleared for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, a header by Andrés Reyes was saved point-blank by Joe Willis. Willis made two more saves in the 32’ minute and 41’ minute on his way to his third clean sheet of the season.
In the second half, Nashville subbed in midfielder Hany Mukhtar, who created instant life in the offensive third of the pitch. The Boys in Gold put the pressure on and it paid off in the 53’ minute when Aníbal Godoy rocketed home an errant clearance from the top of the box to give Nashville the 1-0 lead.
Nashville had the opportunity to double the score in the 74’ minute after Mukhtar was dragged down in the box for a penalty. He took the kick from the spot and rang it off the crossbar, keeping the score at 1-0.
Miami put the pressure on, holding court in the offensive third. In the 79’ minute, Miami had a dangerous free kick opportunity from just outside the box, but Willis was up to the task and poked it over the bar. Willis had to come up big one final time in the second minute of stoppage time to stop a Miami header from the center of the box.
Nashville held on in stoppage time to secure the victory.
Goals
Aníbal Godoy - 53’ (NSH)
Key Stat
10 blocked shots - Nashville SC blocked 10 of Inter Miami CF’s 18 shots on the night. Willis contributed with five saves, but the Nashville backline held strong and limited opportunities.
Up Next
Nashville SC is back at home again this Wednesday, Sept. 2 as they square off with Orlando City SC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at Nissan Stadium. Fans can watch the match locally on MyTV30 or listen in on ESPN 94.9 and El Jefe 96.7. In-marketing streaming is also available on YouTubeTV and AT&T TV.
Starting XI:
Joe Willis; Dan Lovitz, Dave Romney, Walker Zimmerman, Alistair Johnston; Aníbal Godoy (Dax McCarty — 61‘), Brian Anunga, Alex Muyl (Daniel Ríos — 61‘); Abu Danladi (Hany Mukhtar — HT), Randall Leal (Taylor Washington — 74‘); Dominique Badji (Jalil Anibaba — 84‘)
Unused substitutes: David Accam, Eric Miller, Derrick Jones, Elliot Panicco
Disciplinary:
NSH:
Dominique Badji — 31’ (Unsporting behavior)
Daniel Lovitz — 68’ (Unsporting behavior)
Dax McCarty — 70’ (Unsporting behavior)
MIA:
Nicol
ás Figal — 23’ (Unsporting behavior)
Andres Réyes — 36’ (Unsporting behavior)
Leandro González Pirez — 52’ (Unsporting behavior)
