NYCFC fall 2-0 to Nashville SC in season opener
Courtesy: NYCFC
By Chris Tsakonas
It wasn’t the start to 2023 New York City FC hoped for, as Opening Day ended in a 2-0 loss on the road to Nashville SC in their season opener at GEODIS Park on Saturday afternoon.
“I don’t think we had enough of the ball to have any control of the game,” head coach Nick Cushing said in his post match press conference.
Nashville had the upper hand in the early moments of the match, generating several dangerous opportunities. The best of the early bunch came in the sixth minute, where Luis Barraza denied Jacob Shaffelberg on a through ball into the box from Randall Leal.
New York City had a couple of chances from outside the 18 yard box that went high and wide, with the only shot on target of the first half coming off the foot of newcomer Braian Cufre in the 31st minute.
The breakthrough for Nashville came in the 34th minute, when a free kick from the left flank found the head of Fafa Picault on the back post. Barraza stopped Picault from short range, but Walker Zimmerman tapped in the rebound.
NYCFC had a better opportunity in the 48th minute, as Thiago Andrade squared a ball for Matias Pellegrini in the 18 that was fired well over the crossbar. On the other end, Nashville looked as though they could’ve drawn a penalty in the 51st minute, when it appeared as if a shot from Shaffelburg was blocked off the hand of Thiago Andrade - but no call was given.
City had another close chance shortly thereafter, when Pellegrini narrowly missed another chance at the edge of the area in the 61st minute, pulling it just wide of the right post.
The second goal came in the 80th minute, as Hany Mukhtar navigated through the defense off a giveaway before leading a pass to Shaffelburg, who finished to double Nashville’s lead.
New York City held the ball for 61.2 percent of the time, and tied Nashville SC 9-9 - but were outdone 1.3 - 0.4 on expected goals and 4-2 in shots on target. Both sides recorded two saves on the night, as Luis Barraza got the start in the first match of the post-Sean Johnson era.
Next Saturday, NYCFC will look to pick up their first points of the season on the road against the Chicago Fire. That’ll wrap up a back to back road trip for City to start the 2023 season.