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Analysis: Thor scores to beat Montreal




Walker Zimmerman celebrates his game-winning goal against CF Montreal on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in Montreal.Bernard Brault/Courtesy of Nashville SC

Walker Zimmerman celebrates his game-winning goal against CF Montreal on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in Montreal.Bernard Brault/Courtesy of Nashville SC

Saturday’s match against CF Montreal was always a winnable match, even though Nashville SC had drawn them at home both of the previous meetings this season.

The question was whether being on the road would affect the outcome.

Despite the form in which the Boys in Gold have played this season, matches away from Nissan Stadium haven’t gone according to plan. Though currently on a three-match win streak, including two on the road, the previous seven away matches saw Nashville draw five, lose two and win none.

All four of Nashville’s players who took part in their countries’ World Cup qualifying matches were available, but only Walker Zimmerman started.

With Dax McCarty serving a suspension for a red card issued last match, center back Zimmerman, also known as Thor, wore the captain’s armband.

Nashville head coach Gary Smith brought out his 3-5-2 lineup in a mostly familiar way. Dave Romney and Eric Miller joined Zimmerman in the back three, with Taylor Washington and Daniel Lovitz as the left and right wingbacks, respectively.

 

 

Matt LaGrassa and Brian Anunga took the central midfield spots normally filled by McCarty and Anibal Godoy.

Hany Mukhtar settled in to his number 10 role behind attacking partner CJ Sapong and Daniel Rios, who made his third straight start at striker.

Both teams seemed eager to score first, with Nashville earning a free kick in the third minute and seeing a Rios header get saved only to have Montreal immediately counterattack.

Romney headed up a cross that was certain to give goalkeeper Joe Willis some trouble. Willis was able to make a more comfortable save over the head of Montreal striker Bjorn Johnsen.

Minutes later, Anunga turned the ball over at midfield, and Johnsen had an open look from roughly 20 yards only to see it go wide to Willis’ right. The ensuing Nashville attack saw Lovitz send a cross in to Rios, who headed it down to Mukhtar, whose shot was blocked.

The ball came straight back to Rios, who thundered a shot on goal, only to see it saved by goalkeeper James Pantemis.

The ball wasn’t cleared, so Rios shot again, and though it was partially blocked, it still hit the crossbar.

This back-and-forth went for most of the first half. Both teams combined for 27 shots, although NSC put eight of them on target, compared to Montreal’s three. Nine shots from the Canadians came from outside the box, while Nashville took seven from inside the box.

Toward the end of the half, the referee decided to try to get the game in hand. He issued a yellow card to Mukhtar for a seemingly benign challenge in which he won the ball. Three minutes later saw the official give a yellow card to Montreal’s Zorhan Bassong for his takedown of Rios. The next whistle blown was for halftime.

Smith brought on Godoy for LaGrassa to begin the second half after letting the Panamanian rest for the first half. 

The second half began in a promising way, with Mukhtar leading Rios through the defense and the Mexican striker finding Sapong in the middle of the box for a shot.

Pantemis came up with a great kick save to keep the score level at zero.

There was a nervy moment in the 59th minute when Montreal star attacker Djordje Mihailovic raced through the Nashville defense in a 1-vs-3 only to be taken down by Anunga just outside the penalty box for a yellow card and a free kick. In a very dangerous position, Montreal sent their free kick directly into the wall of Nashville players.

Smith subbed in Alistair Johnston for Miller and Ake Loba for Rios in the 64th minute. This was when the game would change.

Loba immediately drew a foul and a free kick in the Montreal half. Lovitz and Mukhtar stood over it, while the NSC players waited just outside the penalty box.

Zimmerman could be seen a few steps behind his teammates, champing at the bit to charge.

Just before Mukhtar stepped up to take the kick, the captain surged forward and got a head start on the defense.

He was onside and found the ball for a perfect redirect header that Pantemis couldn’t save, though he was in good form that night.

It was Mukhtar’s eighth assist and the first goal of the season for Thor after scoring three goals last season — including the club’s inaugural goal against Atlanta United.

But Thor wasn’t finished with his heroics.

In the 74th minute, Montreal stormed through the Nashville defense with speed and precision passing. Torres found Mihailovic with a slicing through ball, but instead of shooting at close range, Mihailovic passed with a nifty backheel to Kizza, whose shot was saved by Willis.

The shot didn’t get cleared, and as Ibrahim raced forward to bury what would surely be the equalizer from close range to steal a point from Nashville, Zimmerman threw his body in the way to block the shot with a perfectly timed sliding challenge.

After that, Nashville just wanted to run out the clock. But that strategy earned Willis a yellow card for time-wasting in the 85th minute.

There were three minutes of stoppage, but the damage was done, and Nashville closed out its second road win of the season.

“Without a doubt, these away results, they mean something very special to the group,” Smith said in the postgame news conference. “I’m sure everyone can appreciate that. The sort of troubles and difficulties and traumas that you’ve got to go through when you’re coming to play away from home, and the attitude of the guys, the way they went about their business, the professionalism of the group shone through again.”

When asked about the effect Zimmerman had on the group, Smith had this to say: “Yeah, look: his presence alone — I’ve mentioned it on multiple occasions — it lifts others around him. He’s an organizer, he’s a leader and the example he sets is just such a high one. He looked composed on the ball. He looked a threat in the air and was physically dominant. And let’s keep in mind: he’s, like a lot of guys that have traveled with their country, he’s not had any football, and his preparation time will have been limited. So to come in here today and play 90 minutes at the level he has — and, in fairness, win the game — has been monumental for us. Again, just underlines his importance to the group.”

The club and Willis lead the league in clean sheets with 10, and Mukhtar is tied for the lead in goal contributions with 10 goals and eight assists.

The Boys in Gold travel to Toronto next Saturday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. to face a TFC team that might have the Wooden Spoon well in hand after its fifth straight loss and eighth straight match without a point.

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