Union cannot beat shorthanded Nashville SC in second straight loss
The Union had an 11-on-10 advantage for 27 minutes, plus stoppage time, to score a winner but came up short. Cavan Sullivan made his first MLS start.
After going without a loss for 11 games, the Union have dropped two in a row.
The Union (12-5-4, 40 points) lost at Nashville SC, 1-0, Saturday night. The game was the finale of a three-game road stretch for the Union, which resulted in a win and two losses.
On its surface, a loss to Nashville (12-4-5, 41 points) can be stomached. Cavan Sullivan, 15, earned his first MLS start while the Union were missing six players in a difficult environment. Quinn Sullivan and Nathan Harriel were both with the U.S. at the Concacaf Gold Cup, while Jesus Bueno, Ian Glavinovich, Mikael Uhre, and Frankie Westfield were all injured.
But the loss is more alarming when considering that Nashville was the shorthanded team during the match. Nashville SC’s Jonathan Pérez was assessed a red card for a reckless challenge against Tai Baribo with the game tied, 0-0, in the 63rd minute.
Baribo came on as a substitute in the 61st minute, making a return from a calf injury he suffered on May 31. With the team’s leading goal scorer on the field for the first time in more than a month, the Union had an 11-on-10 advantage for 27 minutes, plus stoppage, to score a winner.
Instead, Nashville won the game with a penalty strike from Hany Mukhtar in the 101st minute. Mukhtar was awarded the penalty on a Nashville counter attack in the 97th, as Olwethu Makhanya tripped Mukhtar in the 18-yard-box. The infraction was not initially called by the referee on the field, but after a video-assisted review check, Nashville was awarded a penalty.
Mukhtar blasted a right-footed shot over the head of Andre Blake, effectively winning the game for Nashville. The Union were able to launch one more attack as the match crept into the 103rd minute, but they were unable to even the score. Mukhtar’s penalty shook up the Eastern Conference standings, as the Union fell behind Nashville and new league leader FC Cincinnati (13-5-3, 42 points).
“It’s always in our court,” Union coach Bradley Carnell said. “We can make the slide tackle or not. We can make the extra recovery or not, stay on our feet. These are lessons we have to learn, and they’re a tough opponent.”
The loss marked the third game this season in which the Union were unable to score after an opposing player was shown a red card. They were a man up in a scoreless game with FC Dallas on May 31 for 51 minutes and were unable to find a goal. The Union were also scoreless in 24 minutes against a 10-man St. Louis City team.
The team’s inability to find a goal and steal a win away from Nashville at Geodis Park after it went down to 10 men speaks to the offensive dry spell the Union are experiencing. In their three-game road stretch, the Union’s only goal was a penalty against the Chicago Fire, scored by Bruno Damiani. The last goal the Union scored from open play was Markus Anderson’s 98th-minute goal in the team’s 2-1 win over Charlotte FC on June 14.
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In Saturday’s match, the Union were even with Nashville on shots (11) and shots on goal (3). But the Union managed only four shots after Pérez was sent off. Three of those shots were on target, but none managed to find the net.
It would be hard to justify panicking over back-to-back Union losses, but they do provide evidence for the claim that they have struggled against good teams this season. Of their 12 wins, only three have come against teams currently above the playoff cut line.
Still, Carnell’s navigation through a jam-packed May schedule and a plethora of absences in June has the Union third in the East. The Union were able to absorb back-to-back losses to Columbus and Nashville and remain in a favorable position.
“It’s just natural,” Carnell said. “We’re going through a couple of things right now. If anyone expects us to go through unscathed throughout the season, then you haven’t been around the league long enough.”
The Union’s schedule gets crowded again, as their loss to Nashville was the first of five matches over a span of 15 days. They will host the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup (7 p.m., Paramount+). The Red Bulls will return to Subaru Park three days later for a Saturday night MLS match (7:30, Apple TV).
The Union also play Wednesday and Saturday of the following week, hosting CF Montréal on July 16 and traveling to Houston to face the Dynamo on July 19. If Carnell’s team hopes to regain the momentum it carried through May and June, it will have to do so with a crowded schedule.
“We know the difficulties around the league with all the congestion,” Carnell said. “With what’s going on and the May stretch we had. The team has performed in a certain way, and we’re so happy with the boys and everyone’s contributions right now.”