Depleted Nashville SC falls to Columbus Crew for rare second consecutive loss
For the first time in nearly a year, Nashville SC has lost back-to-back games in MLS.
Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew (9-6-4, 31 points) at Lower.com Field was just the second time in 2023 that Nashville has allowed at least two goals. And in the absence of three goal contributors — Teal Bunbury (hamstring), Fafa Picault (international duty) and Jacob Shaffelburg (international duty) — Nashville's shutout defeat (10-5-5, 35 points) meant a second consecutive scoreless game for the first time since March 25.
Columbus forward Christian Ramirez broke the deadlock in the 20th minute from a quick transition that started in Columbus' penalty box. But Nashville center back Jack Maher's own goal in the 95th minute sealed Nashville's first consecutive loss since Aug. 14 last year. Nashville lost to CF Montréal, 1-0, on Wednesday.
Avoiding back-to-back losses ties into why Nashville has made the MLS Cup Playoffs each season, still in its formative years as an MLS club. And when assessing Nashville in 2023, no alarms sound for concern.
"It's a long season," said Nashville and U.S. men's national team center back Walker Zimmerman. "You can't get too caught up in having back-to-back losses, the same way you can't get caught up in having back-to-back wins. So obviously, we're looking to break that losing streak. But (it's) not something that we're going to panic about here."
Nashville without Shaffelburg, Picault
The loss to Columbus was Nashville's first game in 2023 without wingers Picault and Shaffelburg, who are playing for Haiti and Canada, respectively, in the Concacaf Gold Cup that began Saturday. In the absence of Nashville's quickest attackers, Nashville's 5-3-2 formation meant Luke Haakenson partnered with Hany Mukhtar up front, while Randall Leal played as an attacking midfielder.
The trio had three shots in the game, but only Mukhtar pinned a chance on target.
Picault has already missed three games. Picault and Shaffelburg, together, are guaranteed to miss next Saturday's home game against D.C. United (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass). Nashville midfielder Anibal Godoy (Panama) is also playing in the North American international tournament.
"When you're missing valuable pieces of the puzzle, you're gonna miss important connections," Nashville coach Gary Smith said. "You're going to miss important creative situations and opportunities … You've taken away some goals out of the team as well. I know that Hany is at the forefront of that. But you do lose some vital pieces."
Lonely Mukhtar up top
Mukhtar had nearly 70 touches of the ball. But with all eyes on the reigning MLS MVP and 2023 goals leader, the German midfielder recorded just one shot on target, out of three, against the Crew. Against Montréal, Mukhtar had one shot on goal out of two attempts.
Consecutive losses not alarming
Nashville's week may have ended with a second consecutive loss, but its season objective to finish the regular season with the best MLS record (Supporters Shield) and a No. 1 overall playoff seed is still intact. FC Cincinnati, which Nashville is chasing for that spot, lost to D.C. United in a 3-0 drubbing on Saturday.
"We knew it was gonna be a challenging week," Zimmerman said. "We're still at a really good spot in the standings.
"But when we look at the standings, we're chasing upwards. We're not looking at the line below us, we're chasing Supporters' Shield, we're chasing Cincinnati, the top of Eastern Conference."
For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Columbus Crew defeats Nashville SC, 2-0, on June 24 at Lower.com Field
