NASHVILLE - What a long, strange trip.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for Nashville SC, playing four matches in 14 days. In those four matches, Nashville earned five points with a win and two draws against Inter Miami CF and Orlando City SC last week.
Sunday’s scoreless result against Inter Miami came after a lengthy weather delay pushed kickoff back by 80 minutes. Between that delay, matchday travel and the grind of the compacted schedule, Sunday’s match was one for tired legs.
But the Boys in Gold pushed through anyway to secure the point.
“Miami started in a very bright fashion and got themselves into some very good positions early on,” Head Coach Gary Smith said. “Probably for the first time in a good while, we rode our luck a little bit in those early 10 or 12 minutes. More into the game we showed some very good signs in possession and managed the ball as well as we’ve done away from home. I felt we got stronger and stronger in the second half, and the statistics tell us that. There were some very good openings for us and yet again the only thing that’s missing for us is that end product. We’ve had very good chances, a clean sheet, a wonderful display under the circumstances. We had a long delay and I really can’t ask for much more from this group at this moment.”
While Smith was satisfied with Nashville’s fourth clean sheet of the season and three-match unbeaten run, he knows his team will be working hard this week to unlock its scoring production after taking 16 shots without scoring on Sunday night.
“There have been some really nice moments that we haven’t converted,” Smith said. “It’s been the Achilles Heel for this team. We’ve had 16 efforts at goal tonight away from home and we’ve only hit the target four times. Not only is it a problem not scoring, it’s a problem hitting the target as well. This is an ongoing problem for our group. I only know two ways of trying to correct that: the first is you change the bodies and the second is you work ever so hard at it. We’re working ever so hard at it and my hope is at some point we see the reward for that.”
For the first time in a few weeks, the Boys in Gold will have nearly a full week to rest, recuperate and prepare for their next match. Smith is looking forward to giving his players more time to recover and prepare for one final home match in this phase of the 2020 schedule.
“You would not even believe the amount of discussion about the break, about some rest, about the opportunity to regroup emotionally and physically,” Smith said. “To be in a position where we can choose to have some recovery time, some build up time, to work on the training field as heavy or as light as we want it to be. It’s a week that looks somewhat normal for this group. I’m sure any team that’s dealing with the schedule in the same way we are is thinking exactly the same thing. These players have now played five out of seven games in 25 days away from home. It’s tough, really tough. Nobody in this country as far as I know has ever had to fly on the day of the game as much as the teams are doing now. You’re seeing some strange results because of it. It’s not easy, so it’s going to be great to have some days at home. It’s going to be great to get some rest and I hope physically and emotionally we come back much fresher.”
Nashville SC hosts Atlanta United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Nissan Stadium. Follow all the action on MyTV30, ESPN 94.9 for English radio and El Jefe for Spanish commentary.
