If the idea is to be in top form by the start of the season, Nashville SC would have some soul-searching to do.
But after a 2-1 loss to Lexington SC in its final preseason game on Feb. 14 at Geodis Park, coach B.J. Callaghan didn’t seem overly worried with the result.
Nashville mostly dominated possession against Lexington, a team from the second-division USL Championship, but gave up a pair of goals on unforced errors. In the 42nd minute, goalkeeper Xavier Valdez failed to control a routine back-pass and gave up the ball directly to a Lexington forward, and with 10 minutes to play, Nashville turned the ball over once more, leading to Lexington’s game-winning goal.
“Mistakes are always going to happen,” Callaghan said. “We’re more concerned with how we respond from mistakes. I thought the group, as a whole, responded fairly well and went right back and continued to look like us.”
Nashville scored its lone goal in the 55th minute off a bad pass by Lexington’s goalkeeper. Hany Mukhtar intercepted the pass and assisted Cristian Espinoza, who fired it home from close range.
“In the first half, I thought we were too slow with the ball and didn’t move it well and missed the opportunities and openings that were there,” Callaghan said. “In the second half, the tempo was better, the intensity was better. Overall, it’s probably a good performance in the way of some of the things that we’ve been working on. But at the end of the day, I think guys probably still need to step up and perform at a higher level.”
Nashville SC preparing for CONCACAF Champions Cup, MLS opener
Nashville finished the preseason with two wins, two losses and one draw in five games and was outscored 9-8. Its first competitive game is on Feb. 17 at Atletico Ottawa in the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and it hosts the New England Revolution on Feb. 21 to start MLS play.
Nashville began with what appeared to be a full-strength lineup, with Mukhtar, Espinoza and Sam Surridge in attack, Eddi Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek in midfield and Dan Lovitz, Maxwell Woledzi, Jeisson Palacios and Andy Najar on defense. Outside of Valdez and Ahmed Qasem, who were replaced by Joe Willis and Shak Mohammed, respectively, at halftime, Nashville’s starters played most of the match.
“The main exercise was to get the next group 75 minutes into their legs, so that going into Ottawa, every single player is ready to go a full 90 if needed,” Callaghan said.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: BJ Callaghan, Nashville SC not worried about loss to end preseason
