A late Aníbal Godoy goal got Nashville SC’s 2022 season off to an ideal start. The Boys In Gold toppling the Seattle Sounders 1-0 to take three points from one of the most difficult road trips of the year.
The XI
Head coach Gary Smith threw a curveball to start the season. After using a back three during preseason, Smith opted to start Aníbal Godoy, Sean Davis and Dax McCarty together in a 4-1-3-2 formation, with Randall Leal putting in a defensive shift underneath the strikers.
On the pitch
With a trio of defensively solid midfielders, Nashville clogged the middle of the pitch and frustrated Seattle’s attackers. While Seattle controlled the bulk of possession, Nashville looked the more dangerous side. Hany Mukhtar picked up right where he left off last year and looked lethal on the half turn, nearly opening the scoring just before the break.
As the match looked destined for a draw, Nashville found a winner from an unlikely source. Randall Leal hit a perfect driven cross for Aníbal Godoy, who snuck across goal to the back post for a simple finish.
The big picture
With their eight match road stretch looming heavy over the start of the season, any result in Seattle would have been a positive. To start the season with three points heading into a difficult match in Minnesota gives the Coyotes a bit of relief and more room for error until they can return home.
Stats
Possession: SEA 58% – 42% NSH
Shots: SEA 10 – 10 NSH
Shots on goal: SEA 2 – 4 NSH
Expected goals: SEA 0.45 – 0.90 NSH
Goals: SEA 0 – 1 NSH
Passes: SEA 434 – 317 NSH
Fouls: SEA 13 – 11 NSH
Yellow cards: SEA 2 – 0 NSH
Red cards: SEA 0 – 0 NSH
Gallery
All photos courtesy Nashville SC.
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