Nashville SC returned to action for the first time in 10 days and dropped a back-and-forth affair 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at First Tennessee Park on Tuesday.
Nashville owned over 56% of possession on the night but could not find a winner or an equalizer late in the match. Now, Nashville will turn its sights to Charleston on Saturday to keep pace in the USL Eastern Conference playoff race.
90 in a Nutshell
The opening minutes were not kind to Nashville SC. Just six minutes in, Matt Pickens committed a foul in the box and Tampa Bay’s Georgi Hristov converted the penalty to put the Rowdies up 1-0. From there, Nashville SC recovered and rebounded in a big way. The home side owned possession and finally found the back of the net in the 20’ minute. Kosuke Kimura chipped the ball from the wide area to Lebo Moloto, who knocked the ball in to equalize the match.
The two sides went back and forth until the halftime whistle. In the second half, Tampa Bay got to the attack early and pressured towards goal, but Nashville kept the Rowdies from high-danger areas. Nashville had a good chance to take the lead off a Moloto header and a Liam Doyle free kick, but both were cleared. On an ensuing possession for Tampa Bay, a ball whipped into the box by Junior Flemmings ricocheted off of London Woodberry’s head and into the net for an own goal to give the Rowdies the 2-1 lead.
In the dying moments, Nashville had a golden chance to equalize. Brandon Allen had a neat deflection that Tampa Bay keeper Daniel Vega lunged to stop, and a rebound attempt by Moloto went high.
Goals
6’ TBR – Georgi Hristov (PK)
20’ NSH – Lebo Moloto (assisted by Kosuke Kimura)
69’ TBR – London Woodberry (Own Goal)
Quotable
Nashville SC Head Coach Gary Smith
“There are too many moments that are squandered, and it’s really been a feature of our group all year. We’ve made enough moments throughout games. We’ve limited teams to enough moments at the other end. But, the big difference tonight was that they were clinical when it mattered, or we made a mistake, and they didn’t.”
Key Stat
300 – This was Pickens’ 300th professional appearance, and he was honored before the match, alongside Kimura, who played his 300th professional match 10 days ago at North Carolina FC.
Moloto Equalizer
Lebo Moloto’s first half equalizer was his seventh goal on the season for Nashville, tying Brandon Allen for most on the team in all competitions this season. It was the fourth time Nashville had equalized this season after falling behind.
Eastern Conference Update
There were no other USL teams in action Tuesday night, so Nashville SC remains locked in ninth place for now. Charlotte Independence can move within one point of Nashville SC in the standings with a win tomorrow night against Charleston Battery. The loss is just Nashville’s third at home this season. It’s home record sits at 8-3-2 overall and 8-3-0 at First Tennessee Park.
Up Next
The Nashville SC homestand continues on Saturday when the club continues to battle for playoff position against the Charleston Battery. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM at First Tennessee Park.
