Toronto FC gifts Nashville SC late-game tie with keeper mistake, keeping unbeaten streak alive
Toronto FC nearly snapped Nashville SC's unbeaten streak Saturday, but the Reds' lead-blowing curse had other plans.
Randall Leal's hopeful strike in the 69th minute, nearly 25 yards from goal, slipped through Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson's mitts — a howler, which not only led to Toronto's sixth blown lead of the season, it preserved Nashville's nine-game unbeaten streak, which ties a club record. Nashville (9-3-5, 32 points) and Toronto (3-5-10, 18 points) played to a second consecutive tie this season, 1-1, at BMO Field.
Toronto winger, and the second highest-paid MLS player, Lorenzo Insigne had given the Reds the lead in the 38th minute, whipping a right-foot shot into the top right corner. (One worthy of tipping the hat to). The score was Insigne's third goal of the season and his second in consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Nashville started the game toothless offensively, failing to register a shot on goal until Hany Mukhtar forced a goal-line save in the 65th minute and center forward Teal Bunbury pinged the post twice. But Nashville wrangled the pace of the game in the second half, limiting Toronto to just one shot on goal and injecting its otherwise dull attack with Leal, Fafa Picault, among others as vital substitutions, resulting in its first tie when trailing at halftime this season (2-3-1).
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Nashville keeps streak alive
Nashville gets hot in the summer and so does its soccer club.
Saturday's draw matched Nashville's club-record, nine-game unbeaten streak from August 2021.
Nashville halftime adjustments
Nashville coach Gary Smith said the main reason for a poor first half was its "core foundation of our possessional work was too untidy." Also known as: misplaced passes, rough touches, balls going out of play too often and missing attacking connections going forward.
"The conversation at the (halftime) break was about moving the ball quicker, occupying spaces that were tougher to deal with and actually improving the connections and the quality of our play," Smith said. "Because there were far too many moments, even in reasonable positions, in possession or counter-attacking, that we squandered the ball far too cheaply."
Nashville subs make the difference
Enter Leal and Fafa Picault, who according to Smith, injected a needed excitement and enthusiasm in the attack.
Taylor Washington and Josh Bauer made life difficult for former teammate CJ Sapong — traded for Lukas MacNaughton in April — in the defensive third. Even Anibal Godoy added fluidity into the midfield
"I though it could have tipped (the game) our way but as I said, I thought a point was a very fair result," Smith said.
Lukas MacNaughton exits early
Nashville center back Lukas MacNaughton dropped to the turf in the 26th contact untouched, clinching his groin. The 28-year-old Canadian's return to face his former team was cut short.
And Nashville head athletic trainer Yoshi Mitsuyama presented MacNaughton two options, each with consequences.
"Look, you're just gonna make this worse," he told MacNaughton. "And if we can get you off now, we might have a chance for next weekend. If you carry on playing, it could be two or three weeks if this doesn't go the right way."
Mitsuyama insisted and MacNaughton obliged.
"It's frustrating," MacNaughton said. "It's a game. You want to play the full game. You never want to be injured in sports, but I guess that's part of sports. So yeah, it felt … not great. Probably feels about the same now. But hopefully it won't keep me out too long."
Nashville hosts Western Conference leader St. Louis City SC on June 17 (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass) at Geodis Park.
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: Nashville SC ties Toronto FC at BMO Field to keep unbeaten streak alive
