A slow start on Saturday sank Louisville City FC in a 4-0 preseason loss to Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC.
Nashville SC, which hosted the closed-door game at Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood, Tenn., scored three goals in the first period of a game split into a trio of 30-minute segments.
The format allowed for maximum rotation through both rosters as the clubs train up to their respective regular season openers.
“Not a great performance by our team today,” said LouCity’s head coach and sporting director, John Hackworth. “…We dug ourselves a two-nothing hole, got caught in transition when we were really in a great attacking spot on that third goal, and they can undo you that fast.”
Nashville SC’s C. J. Sapong opened scoring in the sixth minute, finishing with a header on a set piece. Hany Mukhtar, who assisted Sapong, also registered a brace in the first period, converting a 15th-minute penalty before adding another goal in the 18th.
The boys in purple settled in, created a few chances and held Nashville scoreless until a turnover in their own half led to the game’s final goal, a 59th-minute finish by a Nashville SC trialist.
“I still felt like we tried to play our game,” Hackworth said. “We tried to press. We tried to build out of the back. We had some really good buildups that put us in good spots. We didn’t create enough chances.
“Credit to Nashville: They were excellent and really tough to break down. It was a good test for us, but we certainly need to have an answer to our performance today.”
LouCity and Nashville SC, which originally launched in the USL Championship, have met often in recent years. Nashville played its first-ever game in Louisville in 2018 before the transition to MLS, and the clubs also faced off in the 2020 preseason.
Saturday’s result followed up LouCity’s first preseason game, a 3-0 win March 13 at FC Cincinnati.
The boys in purple next continue their road trip with a swing through Texas for preseason friendlies with MLS expansion side Austin FC and the Houston Dynamo. Both games will be played behind closed doors.
LouCity will begin a 32-game regular season on or before May 1.
