Crew midfielder Dániel Gazdag dribbling upfield in the team’s 3-0 loss to Nashville. Photo courtesy of: The Columbus Crew
After bouncing back from one of the longest winless streaks in team history with five straight games without a loss, the Crew’s heater came to an ugly end.
Columbus was defeated by Nashville SC 3-0 on Wednesday night at Geodis Park, as very little went right on either side of the pitch.
The Crew’s composure was tested right out of the gate, as they fell behind just two minutes into play.
Nashville Midfielder Alex Muyl’s shot attempt deflected off of Columbus center midfielder Sean Zawadzki into the net, being credited as an own goal for Zawadzki and a 1-0 lead for Nashville.
Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy was frustrated with conceding the early goal, something the Crew did last week, too, in their matchup with FC Cincinnati.
“Like I said to my players, when we make this mistake twice, it’s not a mistake, this is a decision,” Nancy said. “So this is so difficult, emotionally and physically.”
Trying to answer back quickly, Columbus applied pressure of their own. The Crew accumulated seven shots in the first 20 minutes, but were unsuccessful in finding the back of the net.
In the 30th minute, a well-executed two-on-one breakaway proved to be too tricky for Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Nashville forward Sam Surridge crossed the ball across the box to midfielder Hany Mukhtar, who slid into a scoring shot, extending the lead to two.
Facing a two-goal deficit through 45 minutes, Columbus had maintained ball possession for 60.1% of the first half and attempted six more shots than Nashville.
The pace in the first half carried over into the early portions of the second half, with both teams pressing forward. Nashville began to slow down their play as the clock ticked, while Columbus was desperate to get on the board.
Despite three scoring opportunities in the 66th, 68th, and 69th minutes, Columbus never appeared comfortable in the box against Nashville’s compact defense.
In the 82nd minute, Surridge delivered the nail in the coffin to Columbus with a right-footed shot, making the score 3-0.
Finishing the game with 23 total shots, Columbus managed to put only four on target, while Nashville had four on target with thirteen fewer shot attempts.
Coach Nancy was straightforward with his thoughts on the overall performance.
“This was not good today, simple as that,” Nancy said. “We were not clean inside the box, and defensively, we were not clean inside our box.”
The Crew (11-4-8) will host D.C. United (4-12-7) at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday from Lower.com Field.
