Nashville SC came away with a loss in their inaugural match, but there is a lot to be excited about after watching this team play for the first time. For starters, Nashville debuted the gold kits:

Nashville held off Atlanta United’s for the first half, and about 18 minutes into the second half. Both teams struggled early to fall into a rhythm, and the game got really physical; there were 19 fouls in the first half alone. There were a couple scares in the middle of the second half, as Atlanta United midfielder Darlington Nagbe bounced one off of the left post, and then sent one over the bar off an excellent volley from outside the box. A shot from Josef Martinez was saved by Matt Pickens’ chest in the dying minutes of the first half.

At the start of the second half, Coach Smith completely changed the roster and the formation. Nashville seemed less defensively-focused, and made more runs on goal. However, the wet pitch punished Nashville after a poor pass back to CJ Cochran laid the ball at Josef Martinez’s feet, who put a shot into the back of the net in the 58′. 1-0 Atlanta. However, Nashville fought back. A set up that included Liam Doyle and Tucker Hume sent the ball to Alan Winn on the right flank of the attacking third, who passed the ball to an unmarked Mensah, who put the ball in the back of the net for Nashville’s first-ever goal. 1-1 Nashville. Atlanta would score twice more before game’s end, however, with both goals being the result of defensive errors on the part of Nashville. Brandon Vazquez was unmarked on Nashville’s left, and put one in past Cochran. Michael DeGraffenreidt’s poor clearance landed right at Romario Williams, who quickly buried his shot in the net. The match ended with no changes to the score, but Tucker Hume almost changed that. In the 83rd minute, Hume had an excellent chance, but leaned too far back in trying to reach the ball, and shot it over the bar. The game ended at 3-1, but losing 3-1 to a team like Atlanta based on defensive mistakes is not something to be ashamed of. The mistakes can be fixed, and this team was dangerous on the attack against such a high-caliber team. And, almost every player eligible to play got to do so, so they all gained valuable minutes on the pitch, which will pay off in the months to come.

Nashville will travel to Florida next, to play the Chicago Fire on February 21, Ottawa Fury on February 23, Orlando City on February 25. Next, Nashville will travel to FC Cincinnati on March 3, before the USL season opener on March 17 at Louisville City, before the home opener on March 24 against Pittsburgh.