Nashville SC traveled to East Rutherford, NJ, to take on New York Red Bulls. They did. It occurred. That's about all I can say.
To be candid, I should've expected this, but I honestly thought SOMEONE WOULD SCORE! I should have known it would be less than desirable when both Randall Leal and Anibal Godoy were out and, for the second week in a row, Hany Mukhtar did not start, though his halftime appearance was better than waiting until the 75th minute.
Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis earned our Man of the Match honors for three saves, two of which were close saves that should've been scored. The final save came when Brazilian forward Elias Manoel took a great first touch past Walker Zimmerman, took the ball to the front post, and mistakenly tried to go low to that near post instead of chipping, going to the back post or passing to his teammate running in the center of the box. Willis earned his 33rd clean sheet for Nashville and his 51st in his career.
Neither team could really get anything going as the officials' whistles kept the game at such a slow pace with confusing calls. There were 25 total foul calls, but four yellow cards all awarded to Nashville. Dax McCarty received one in the third minute, Brian Anunga got one in the 52nd, Zimmerman was handed his present in the 85th, and Taylor Washington earned his in the 93rd.
Nashville never tested RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Miguel despite having five corners. Luckily, the Boys in Gold (or will we stay in Black?) are back at home in the Castle this Saturday to face CF Montreal who have yet to play at home, score a goal, or earn a point on the year. Hopefully, this will bring exciting football at least for our fans.
(All media courtesy of Nashville SC)