Nashville SC scored on their first shot of the match and that was all they needed to defeat the Chicago Fire 1-0 at GEODIS Park in Tennessee on Wednesday.
The loss pushes the Fire (7-8-15, 29 points, 14th in Eastern Conference) further down the Eastern Conference table as Nashville leapfrogged Chicago after collecting all three points on Wednesday evening.
The Fire were without leading goalscorer Hugo Cuypers in Nashville after the birth of his first child along with Carlos Terán, Rafael Czichos, Andrew Gutman and Chase Gasper, all of whom missed the match with leg injuries after being listed as “Questionable” on the pre-match availability report.
Chicago looked like the stronger side in the early going of the match and Tom Barlow had a great chance to score in the fifth minute but his on-target effort was denied by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis with relative ease.
The hosts took the lead for good in the 19th minute after Sam Surridge won a header in front of Chicago’s goal.
Hany Mukhtar had the ball near the corner flag on the right before hitting a cross into the Fire’s penalty area that his number nine leaped over Arnaud Souquet to head into the net, putting Nashville up a goal before 20 minutes had elapsed.
Chicago had a few chances throughout the match but the best came in the dying moments of second half stoppage time.
Fabian Herbers played a cross into Georgios Koutsias in the third minute of second half stoppage time and the Greek striker tapped it to Chris Mueller on his left, but the winger skied the net and secured Nashville’s win.
Match Observations
The Fire had the first clear-cut chance of the match five minutes in and it was Tom Barlow, days after recording his first goal of the season, with the on-target effort. Ariel Lassiter had the ball inside Chicago’s own half of the pitch and played a ball over the top of Nashville’s backline that Barlow collected in stride. The striker took a few touches before hitting a left-footed shot from just inside the 18 that was saved by Joe Willis. It was a solid effort from Barlow after the sensational pass from Lassiter but he missed out on an open Georgios Koutsias to his right.
Maren Haile-Selassie and Arnaud Souquet combined well down the right wing in the 16th minute but there was nobody in Nashville’s penalty area to make a play on the nice cross from the French right back.
Nashville SC took the lead in the 19th minute on their first shot of the match. Hany Mukhtar had the ball near the corner flag on the right side and held up play for a moment before swinging a cross into the Fire’s penalty area. Sam Surridge leaped above Arnaud Souquet to win the header and his looping effort barely beat the outstretched Chris Brady before dropping into the net.
The Fire had another great chance to get on the board but were unable to hit the target in the 29th minute. Maren Haile-Selassie whipped in a cross from the right wing and the ball flew past Fabian Herbers before finding Georgios Koutsias. The Greek forward took a touch but leaned too far back, launching the shot over the net into the stands. Koutsias was appropriately frustrated with himself after missing the target with his shot as it was a great opportunity to once again test Joe Willis.
Nashville had a fabulous chance to double their lead in first half stoppage time but Chris Brady made a massive save to keep it a 1-0 contest entering the break. Daniel Lovitz played a simple pass to Hany Mukhtar near midfield and the Nashville attacker got out on the attack. Mukhtar evaded multiple Fire defenders before carrying the ball into Chicago’s penalty area and hitting an on-target effort that a sprawling Brady kicked away from danger.
The Fire outshot Nashville six-three overall and three-two on on-target efforts.
Sam Surridge nearly added an assist to his tally in the 54th minute after Nashville took a free kick quickly in their own half. Shaq Moore fed Surridge the ball before Nashville’s number nine hit a cross that went in between Hany Mukhtar and Teal Bunbury in Chicago’s penalty area. If Surridge’s cross connects with either attacker, the hosts would’ve doubled their lead with an on-target effort.
The Fire finally won their first corner kick of the match in the 66th minute but Nashville cleared their penalty area on the subsequent sequence after Chicago played it short from the corner.
Gastón Giménez only missed the net by a few inches after taking the shot on from beyond midfield from a free kick in the 83rd minute. It was one of the best scoring chances for the Fire after halftime.
Chicago had a chance in second half stoppage time but couldn’t convert. Fabian Herbers hit a cross into Nashville’s penalty area that Georgios Koutsias played first time to Chris Mueller on his left. Mueller had a moment in space but completely skied the net and the Fire’s chance at a result went with it.
Fabian Herbers thought they had a point when Mueller lined up his shot in second half stoppage time.
“It would have been nice to tie the game,” Herbers said post-match. “I think, ultimately, we deserved it, not because of the chances we created. I think we could have created a little bit more. We had a bunch of possession, especially in the second half where we struggled to get behind the back line and to create high-quality chances. But at the same time, I think we were the more dominant team in the second half.
“A couple pieces were missing to get behind that back line. So it would have been nice actually to come away with a tie because Nashville didn't have too much either. I think ultimately a tie would have been a deserved result but, you know, here we are. We go home with a loss.”
The Fire had a lot of possession as the match wound down but that didn’t translate to chances on goal, particularly in the second half. Frank Klopas wanted his team to move the ball faster and brought in Allan Arigoni and Brian Gutiérrez at halftime in an effort to do so.
“We made, I believe, the right moves with the players that we brought in,” said Klopas, “and then our ability, we had to move the ball quicker. We had to get crosses in. We had to take guys that, when you get one-on-one opportunities in the low block, you have to switch the point of attack, attack the wide areas, get crosses in, beat guys one-on-one, take shots on goal. So a lot of ball possession. But I felt we missed opportunities to be more dangerous.”
Chicago Fire club-record signing and leading goalscorer Hugo Cuypers was unavailable for the match after the birth of his son.
What’s On Tap Next?
The Fire will be in Canada on Saturday to take on CF Montréal. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV+.
Follow @soccer_ontap on X for more Chicago Fire news and updates!
Local News
Comments / 0