NASHVILLE — Nashville Soccer Club earned tonight a 1-0 victory over fellow 2020 Major League Soccer expansion side Inter Miami CF (1W-6L-0D) at Nissan Stadium. Midfielder Anibal Godoy’s screamer in the 53’ minute was the difference in the match.
Nashville SC (2W-4L-1D) and Inter Miami CF traded chances early as both earned corner kicks in the first 10 minutes, but neither created any scoring chances. Nashville thought it was able to get on the board in the 17’ minute off the head of Alex Muyl, but the goal was called off by VAR due to a foul in the box.
Miami earned a couple of chances in the 26’ minute as a shot was blocked by defender Alistair Johnston and cleared for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, a header by Andrés Reyes was saved point-blank by Joe Willis. The keeper made two more saves in the 32’ and 41’ minutes on his way to his third clean sheet of the season.
In the second half, Nashville subbed in midfielder Hany Mukhtar, who created instant life in the offensive third of the pitch. The Boys in Gold’s pressure paid off in the 53’ minute when Aníbal Godoy rocketed home an errant clearance from the top of the box to give Nashville the 1-0 lead.
Nashville had the opportunity to double the score in the 74’ minute after Mukhtar was dragged down in the box for a penalty, but the midfielder rang it off the crossbar.
Miami put the pressure on, holding court in the offensive third. In the 79’ minute, Miami had a dangerous free kick opportunity from just outside the box, but Willis was up to the task and poked it over the bar. Willis had to come up big one final time in the second minute of stoppage time to stop a Miami header from the center of the box.
Nashville SC finished the night having stopped 10 of Inter Miami CF’s 18 shots as Willis contributed with five saves to lock in the clean sheet.
Goals
53’ NSH- Anîbal Godoy (Unassisted)
ALL ABOARD THE @a_godoy03 TRAIN #EveryoneN #NSHvMIA pic.twitter.com/wrhZmc6RAE
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) August 31, 2020
Disciplinary
23’ MIA – Nicolas Figal (Unsporting Behavior)
31’ NSH – Dominique Badji (Unsporting Behavior)
36’ MIA – Andres Reyes (Unsporting Behavior)
52’ MIA – Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (Unsporting Behavior)
68’ NSH – Daniel Lovitz (Unsporting Behavior)
70’ NSH – Dax McCarty (Unsporting Behavior)
Up Next
Nashville SC is back at Nissan Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 2 as they square off with Orlando City SC at 7:30 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the match locally on MyTV30 or listen in on ESPN 94.9 and El Jefe 96.7. In-market streaming is also available on YouTubeTV and AT&T TV.
Party in the Music City where the heat is on ?#EveryoneN #NSHvMIA pic.twitter.com/qeVeJpRs8F
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) August 31, 2020
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: After back-to-back defeats on the road, Nashville will be delighted to get the three points on their return home. They now have seven points from five games since resuming regular-season action after having to be withdrawn from the MLS is Back Tournament. And, while they haven’t gotten many plaudits for their style — something the team appeared to hint at with their riding the bus celebration for Godoy’s goal — Gary Smith’s team are showing they will not be pushovers for any team.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It has to be Godoy’s strike early in the second half. The midfielder’s technique was exemplary to beat Luis Robles in the Miami goal with his side foot from 20 yards. And, after having one goal chalked off in the first half, Nashville will feel that justice was done when this time a VAR check took place but the referee decided there was no foul in the buildup
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Godoy’s goal would likely have been sufficient to see him grab the man of the match honor but the Panamanian was excellent throughout his 61 minutes on the pitch, helping Nashville gain an element of control in the center of the pitch.
