Nashville SC's second half surely wasn't its better half Aug. 1 during what turned out to be a 2-2 draw against D.C. United in Washington, D.C.
Blowing a two-goal lead, like NSC (12-4-2) did in this game, will draw those conclusions.
But Nashville SC coach B.J. Callaghan
said he isn't ready to hit the panic button and believes the team atop the Supporters' Shield standings hasn't lost it since the World Cup break."When you look at our last four games, we have two wins, a draw and a loss," he said. "We're constantly looking to improve and get better. That's what we'll continue to do as we move into the Leagues Cup."
As for the second half Aug. 1, during which goals by D.C. United's Silvan Hefti and Tai Baribo evened the score 2-2 after Sam Surridge's
penalty kick and Shak Mohammed's goal in the first half. Callaghan said there was no excuse.
"In the first half we did a really good job of controlling the game with the ball," he said. "In the second half we went away from that a little bit . . . Careless turnovers kind of poked the momentum against us."
When does Nashville SC begin Leagues Cup play?
Nashville SC's next four games will be at home at Geodis Park, with three straight Leagues Cup games — Aug. 5 (7:30 p.m. CT) against Leon, Aug. 9 (7 p.m. CT) against Atletico de San Luis, Aug. 12 (7 p.m. CT) against Monterrey — followed by an MLS game on Aug. 15 (7:30 p.m. CT) against Inter Miami.
That's four games in an 11-day span.
"I like that," Nashville SC's Edvard Tagseth said. "I don't think we look at these four games as seven out of 12. We're just disappointed having lost one game and also to only get a draw.
"But a lot of games coming up, a lot of chances to get better and move forward."
What Edvard Tagseth said about the Leagues Cup
"It's going to be fun," he said. "Of course, it's not easy to play that many games in this heat.
"You have 11 players working their (butts) off to get the results. But at the same time, you're a football player and you like games more than doing training. We can show how strong we are as a squad to use all of our players to do good in this congested period."
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: After draw at D.C. United, Nashville SC looks to Leagues Cup games at home
