Missed Chances Haunt Atlanta United in 1-0 Road Defeat to Nashville SC

A muggy night in Nashville saw the hosts win on a late goal. (photo: SDH Network)

For Atlanta United, it has been a time of change as the team returned to MLS action for the first time in 54 days at GEODIS Park in Nashville, taking on Nashville SC. Chief Soccer Officer/Sporting Director Chris Henderson and the front office have made three transactions so far with the Secondary Transfer Window open, continuing to work towards a roster that represents the way that head coach Tata Martino wants to play in the league.

Two of those moves, Junior Alonso and Paulo Diaz, are there to help out at the back, but both were unavailable, their visa paperwork still being sorted. Against the top team in the Eastern Conference, Stian Gregersen was listed as questionable with a quadriceps injury, and Sergio Santos was unavailable with a troublesome calf injury.

This meant four homegrown players would start in the 4-3-3 on the road. Lucas Hoyos started in net. The back four, left to right, started with Elias Baez, Enea Mihaj, Matt Edwards, and Tomas Jacob. The midfield three in front of them were Cooper Sanchez, Jay Fortune, and Tristan Muyumba. The attacking midfielders were Luke Brennan and Miguel Almirón, with Alexey Miranchuk in the middle of the attack.

The bench gave Tata Martino choices with Jayden Hibbert, Pedro Amador, Adrian Gill, Ronald Hernandez, Latte Lath, Fafa Picault, Will Reilly, Ignacio Suarez-Couri (on a short-term contract), and Cayman Togashi.

Nashville SC brought the stingiest defense in MLS to the match, with Brian Schwake in net in BJ Callaghan's 4-4-2. Dan Lovitz, Maxwell Woledzi, Jack Maher, and Josh Bauer were at the back. The midfield had Matt Corcoran, Eddi Tagseth, Ahmed Qasem, and Shak Mohammed, with a front two of Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge.

Over the first segment of the match, Atlanta United found success in their build up and in their ability to chase and frustrate Nashville in their attempts to do the same in transition. Luke Brennan, Cooper Sanchez, and Matt Edwards had some combination play up the right on their own. Miguel Almirón would try up the middle on the next possession, but the attempt would be blocked by Matt Corcoran.

Cooper Sanchez got the first shot for United in the 8th minute, right at Nashville SC keeper Brian Schwake.

A moment Atlanta United will have to monitor is the exit of Jay Fortune in the 9th minute, as he went down on the GEODIS Park turf returning to defend after a long run. Will Reilly came in as the substitute, and Fortune was seen lifting his playing shorts and looking at his quadriceps.

The Five Stripes would yield a run down the left where Hany Mukhtar and Dan Lovitz tried to combine at the near post. On the next possession, Shak Mohammed sent in a cross that Hoyos grabbed easily. Short of those moments, Atlanta United's defense worked solidly to frustrate the home side for the entirety of the first half.

Enea Mihaj sprang a few transition chances on big switches, and Alexey Miranchuk used his imagination on more than one occasion to get Atlanta United moving into the attacking third, combining with Brennan and Muyumba.

Atlanta United outshot Nashville 6-2, with the only shots on target coming in the first 45. Cooper Sanchez was 100 percent on his passing in the first half, had three tackles, two recoveries, and won three duels. The two center backs, Mihaj and Jacob, had only three incomplete passes on 68 attempts. They combined for three interceptions, two long-ball completions, two clearances, and four recoveries.

The visitors' approach was more of the same in the second half, exerting more control defensively and not allowing Nashville any real offensive opportunities for large stretches. Atlanta had the first real chance in the 59th minute, as a Miranchuk pass found Luke Brennan ahead of his defender at the edge of the six. After settling the ball quickly, Brennan's attempt was right at Nashville keeper Brian Schwake, who made a point-blank save with his left arm.

Another moment of concern came with 30 minutes to go, as Matt Edwards went down on defense, eventually getting back up on his feet, grabbing his left leg. He was subbed as well, for Ronald Hernandez. Nashville had two other chances without much to show for it in the next ten minutes, and the match remained scoreless.

Nashville got their breakthrough with 11 minutes to go, as passing up the left wing got behind the United backline. A cross from just outside the 18 went over Sam Surridge on the edge of the six, but Shak Mohammed sent a header to the near post as Lucas Hoyos was tracking to the far post, giving Nashville a 1-0 lead.

Tata Martino used his last sub window to send in Latte Lath and Fafa Picault for Luke Brennan and Cooper Sanchez in the 83rd minute. With ten minutes added to the 90, Latte Lath got in behind two Nashville defenders two minutes in, but sliced the ball high and wide of the near post.

In the 94th minute, as the match stretched on and Atlanta still chased an equalizer, Andy Najar sent a rocket at goal, but Lucas Hoyos came up with a miraculous reaction save to preserve a chance to share the points.

All in all, a frustrating night ended with the one goal on the board.

Atlanta United was the better team on the night but didn't take advantage of the opportunities given to them, especially the two in the second half in the final 30 minutes. Nashville took advantage of their one real chance with 11 minutes to go.

United led in shots and shots on target (12-8 and 5-3). They had 15 more touches inside the opponent's 18-yard box (24-9). Tomas Jacob, playing as a center back on the night, led the team with eight defensive contributions, to go with eight recoveries, two tackles, two clearances, and four interceptions.

The team can take positives from the night, showing success in the build up, defending well, and forcing Nashville to find other ways to try to get going offensively. They'll have to take that, in addition to the missed chances, and apply it quickly so a good performance doesn't again end with nothing to show for it.

Next up is the second road match in a row, against Charlotte on Wednesday.