You just don't see misses like that from Hany Mukhtar.
In the final minutes of the first half of Nashville SC's game against New York City FC on Sept. 4, a defensive miscue by New York City led to a loose ball in the box. When the ball fell right to Mukhtar, he had no one within 10 feet of him — plenty of time to tuck it into the net and give Nashville a lead.
Instead, his volley attempt sailed into the crossbar.
As play continued, Mukhtar stood stunned. With his hands on his head, he knew he'd just missed an easy one.
The game ended in a 0-0 draw, and though Nashville managed to add a point to its lead for the MLS Supporters Shield, the Mukhtar miss loomed large.
Nashville SC coach B.J. Callaghan said the miss was a product of Nashville's high pressing
attack, which has been giving teams fits all season. Though he was disappointed the team couldn't find the final strike to earn three points, he didn't seem worried about Mukhtar.
"(Mukhtar's) been tremendous for this club in his history," Callaghan said. "Nothing's defined by one miss. These things happen. The only thing you're going to tell (Mukhtar) is to keep going, right? Just keep going, and he knows it. I thought for the rest of the night, he continued to stay committed to both sides of the ball. He was an effective and dangerous player throughout the match."
To Callaghan's point, Mukhtar is Nashville's all-time leading goal scorer with 97 goals in MLS league play (playoffs included). His 10 goals this season are second on the team behind Sam Surridge, and he's arguably Nashville's most important attacking player every night.
It was a bad miss, but that's all it was. This Nashville SC team is still the favorite to win the regular-season title and should make a deep run in the MLS Cup this fall.
Next up, Nashville plays at Toronto FC on Sept. 9.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Hany Mukhtar's missed shot looms large in Nashville SC draw vs New York City FC
