NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville SC will finally play before a home crowd this weekend, and they hope the first game in their new stadium will be a momentum starter that helps offset the disappointing end of their road trip. They played the LA Galaxy tough for 86 minutes, then one mistake ended with the only goal in a 1-0 loss. That completed a grueling eight-game road stint.
The Galaxy had been threatening the entire evening. After a Galaxy corner kick, center forward Dejan Joveljić found the bottom right corner of the net in the 86th minute to seal the win. Nashville SC had played well in the first half, but over the final 45 minutes plus extra time they were mainly stuck in their own end. The Galaxy took 16 shots, and six of them were on target. Nashville only had four total shots on goal and only one was on target. Nashville completed the trip with a 3-3-2 mark and 11 points. They are currently eighth in the MLS’s Westerm Conference. The Galaxy improved to 5-21, 16 points and are in third place
“It is disappointing to lose a game like that, late,” Nashville midfielder Sean Davis told USA Today Nashville. “But from a big picture point of view, I think we should be proud of the results over the course of these first eight games.
Coach Gary Smith said the team felt “devastated” over the loss, but said he was generally happy with the overall outcome of the trip and his team’s play. “We certainly have a good stretch at home now that I’d like to think these guys are looking forward to and of course, the fans are as well,” Smith said. “… I think we all feel that at certain points in this run of games, we had to show that we could win games, that we weren’t just going to be a defensive unit and take charge with what the games presented to us. And I think we’ve done that.”
Nashville SC opens GEODIS PARK, a 30,000 seat soccer-only stadium, Saturday afternoon. Coming to town is the team with the best record in the league to date, the Philadelphia Union. They are 5-1-2 and have 17 points. The game will be nationally televised and a sellot crowd is expected.
