Recap: Nashville SC skirt past Chattanooga Red Wolves into US Open Cup Round of 16

NASHVILLE, TN - Nashville SC are through to the US Open Cup Round of 16, thanks to a first-half strike from Josh Bauer.

The defender's third goal of the season was enough to push Nashville past USL League One sid eChattanooga Red Wolves in what proved to be a much tighter match than expected against third-division opposition.

The XI

It was wholesale changes for BJ Callaghan. The manager made eleven changes to the lineup that drew in Atlanta, giving Taylor Washington his first appearance of the season. 17-year-old Chris Applewhite also got the nod, becoming the first Nashville homegrown to start a match.

On the pitch

After a couple half-chances for Chattanooga from set pieces, Nashville began to take more control. Josh Bauer continued his new-found finishing form, ripping a low shot into the bottom corner to give Nashville the lead in the 18th minute. After not scoring in an official match in his first five seasons as a pro, the 26-year-old has scored three goals in his first 12 matches this year.

Things took an unfortunate turn for Nashville just a few minutes later. Taylor Washington, the sole remaining member of Nashville's USL side, took the full weight of a falling player on his lower leg. His knee buckled awkwardly, and after extensive on-field treatment he was subbed off in visible discomfort.

The second half saw more of the same for Nashville. The hosts controlled the vast majority of possession, but struggled to break down a Chattanooga side that seemed solely intent on sitting deep and absorbing pressure. The visitors didn't record their first shot until the 64th minute, with substitute Alhassan Alhassan bringing a spark off the bench.

That didn't last. The winger picked up a second yellow card in the 80th minute for a late challenge on Jack Maher, sending the hosts down to 10 men. With a man advantage Nashville continued to press for an insurance goal, but the final ball was consistently off. Ultimately Nashville did enough to earn the win, but it wasn't the walk in the park that many expected.

The big picture

As they did throughout their tournament run, Chattanooga made life incredibly difficult for their opponent. Setting up with a five-man backline and two holding midfielders sitting deep, they filled up every bit of space in front of their own penalty area, the type of space that Nashville have tried to use as their primary building block for attacks.

Gastón Brugman, who started the match in a typical midfield role, ended up pushing forward to try and find pockets of space, but mainly received the ball with his back to goal and was mostly limited to dropping the ball back. It wasn't until the final 10 minutes that Brugman and Nashville were really able to find consistent entry passes into the box.

It wasn't the one-sided game that fans (or even media) expected heading into the match, with the Red Wolves posing a much different challenge than Nashville had faced yet. The Coyotes were forced to attack from wide areas much more than they have wanted to this season, and it took them a good 70 minutes to really find out how to create and exploit space.

At the end of the day, it was a win in a knockout match, a match in which they made wholesale changes to the lineup and gave meaningful minutes to players who hadn't seen much action. They'll take it, with a healthy list of things to work on moving forward.

Nashville will travel to the winner of tomorrow's match between Tampa Bay Rowdies and Orlando City. That Round of 16 match will be played on May 20 or 21.

Up next

Nashville SC stay at home this weekend. They'll play Charlotte FC on Saturday at Geodis Park.

Stats

Possession: NSH 72% – 28% CHA
Passes completed: NSH 605 – 190
Shots: NSH 14 – 3 CHA
Shots on goal: NSH 3 – 3 CHA
Penalty kicks: NSH 0 – 0 CHA
Goals: NSH 1 – 0 CHA
Expected goals: 
Fouls: NSH 8 – 11 CHA
Yellow cards: NSH 1 – 4 CHA
Red cards: NSH 0 – 1 CHA
Announced attendance: 18,544

Gallery

Highlights