Nashville SC fell 2-1 to Toronto FC on Wednesday night, capping off an uncharacteristically sloppy performance by conceding a brutal game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time. The Boys In Gold had plenty of chances to bury the match after taking the lead three minutes in, but were wasteful for the second match in a row.
The vibe check (TL;DR)
- What happened: After taking the lead via an own goal just three minutes in, Nashville never really got a grasp on the match. Neither side were able to settle in possession and slow the game down, with both sides going direct and bypassing midfield for the entirety of the match.
- What we learned: It was an uncharacteristically sloppy match from Nashville, who looked vulnerable when defending in transition all night. For the second match in a row, their end product was subpar.
- Big picture: With a 10-point lead over Inter Miami heading into the match, Nashville have built up enough margin that the loss doesn't imminently threaten their Supporters' Shield hopes. It does, however, make their push for the single-season MLS points record a much more daunting task. They'll need to earn 22 points from their final 10 matches to break Miami's 2024 record.
Highlights
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Key moments
- 24' | Nashville open the scoring via a catastrophic mistake from Toronto. Midfielder Alonso Coello recovers the ball in his own penalty area and attempts to dribble out of pressure, but plays the ball off of Niklas Dorsch, where it trickles past goalkeeper Luca Gavran and into the net for one of the most bizzare own goals you'll ever see.
- 7' | Elias Saad comes close to his debut goal for Nashville, forcing Gavran into a good save from just outside the box.
- 38' | For a second, it looks like Josh Sargent has pulled the hosts level, but his low drive actually hits the outside netting, deceiving a good portion of the fans at BMO Field.
- 49' | Mukhtar heads the ball past Gavran into the net, but Reed Baker-Whiting was offside, and the goal is called back.
- 66' | Sam Surridge forces Gavran into a low save, but his first touch let him down and forced him into a much worse angle than he would have liked.
- 72' | Dániel Sallói equalizes for Toronto on yet another counterattack, heading home an excellent cross from Theo Corbeanu past Schwake.
- 85' | Maxwell Woledzi puts a speculative header on target from a corner kick, but Gavran is hardly tested.
- 90+1' | After a good slipped pass from substitute Shak Mohammed, Surridge hits the side netting from close range.
- 90+3' | Toronto substitute Emilio Aristizábal scores a late winner after Jack Maher slips in the box, bundling the ball into the net to complete the comeback.
Standout performers
- Brian Schwake was solid as usual, making five saves on the night and dealing with several decent looks from Toronto. He wasn't at fault for either of the goals.
- After struggling to deal with Josh Sargent early in the match, Maxwell Woledzi settled into the match and cleaned up a few messes. He was clearly out of gas towards the end.
- Elias Saad moved the ball decently well at times, and combined with the other attackers in the final third. That was a plus. His finishing left a good bit to be desired.
Lineup notes
Head coach BJ Callaghan made a handful of changes to his lineup after Friday's 0-0 draw in New York. Jack Maher and Dan Lovitz replaced Jeisson Palacios and Andy Nájar on the backline, while Matt Corcoran slotted into midfield ahead of Patrick Yazbek.
What it means
Ultimately, results like this aren't uncommon in MLS, especially on the road, and Nashville have built up enough of a cushion in the Shield race that one loss doesn't change their season drastically. With a six-pointer against Miami coming up, though, it does put even more importance on Saturday's match. It also makes their quest for 75 points and the single-season MLS record much more difficult to achieve.
Ben Wright
Up next
Nashville finish off their three-match road trip with a juicy matchup against Inter Miami on Saturday. A loss would give Miami a real foothold in the Supporters' Shield race.
Stats
Possession: TOR 42% – 58% NSH
Field tilt (per Futi): TOR 52% – 48% NSH
Shots: TOR 16 – 11 NSH
Shots on goal: TOR 7 – 5 NSH
Penalty kicks: TOR 0 – 0 NSH
Goals: TOR 2 – 1 NSH
Expected goals: TOR 1.76 – 0.89 NSH
Total Passes: TOR 362 – 507 NSH
Fouls: TOR 9 – 10 NSH
Yellow cards: TOR 1 – 0 NSH
Red cards: TOR 0 – 0 NSH
Deserved win (per Futi): TOR 72% – 8% NSH
Announced attendance:
