The Nashville SC U23 team is in Georgia on Saturday, getting ready for its first away match in the Premier Development League, against Peachtree City MOBA at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Ahead of the game, we asked Peachtree City site MOBA Proud some questions about what Nashville SC fans should expect from this second clash between South Atlantic Division rivals.
Music City Soccer: The first meeting between these two teams got a bit out of hand by the halftime whistle. How much do you think that free kick goal in the third minute put MOBA off their game? Do you think the story of the match would have been different if that kick hadn't gone in?
MOBA Proud: The free kick goal definitely got us out of rhythm. During our three game pre-season, we scored first in two of the three matches, with the last match being the only exception, as we gave up a penalty in the 8th minute. We are definitely a team that needs to get our feet set before things get rolling, but scoring off the free kick (it was an excellent strike) so early made a lot of our players rethink the game strategy, pulling us out of shape. Had the shot gone wide, I think we might have been able to get something going, but being down so quickly really put a damper on our offensive scheme.
Music City Soccer: I know Peachtree City has played just three games so far this regular season, but have you noticed any changes in team selection, formation, or tactics that since the season opener? If you're making an argument for how MOBA can get a result, what do they have to do to make that happen?
MOBA Proud: As far as the lineups go, a number of changes were made between the opener and game two at Tormenta, including putting a different striker up front, and playing Wooling (our goal scorer) in a more defensive role. Coach Harms made the executive decision to take out goalkeeper Nick Nelson who started against Nashville and replace him with Will Meyer, who does far better than expected. Between games one and two, the entire back line was changed up, as one of our best defenders from last year won his spot. The formation has been about the same, but a number of changes to the starting lineup have been made, and I expect a few more following our friendly against Atlanta Silverbacks as a few players made a good impression on the coach. In terms of getting a result, one of the big things is just gaining confidence. Our players seemed to be playing without a lot of energy, and any adversity really damaged our chance of winning. If we can just get one or two good things to go our way early on, I think our guys will gain some confidence and make some runs at the keeper.
Music City Soccer: What do you see as being MOBA's biggest strength/weakness? Was there any weakness on Nashville's end that you thought Peachtree City might have done a better job taking advantage of in the first meeting?
MOBA Proud: Our biggest strength, in my opinion, is our play in attacking third. Putting the Nashville match behind us, when you look at our friendlies and the Tormenta game, when we play on the attack and get the ball into the final third, we do very well at moving it around and getting open looks. As soon as our guys will get the fear of shooting out of their heads, we can become a team that can score on almost any attack. In terms of weakness, we definitely struggle with keeping opposing teams from threatening the keeper. We have a very strong core of defenders, don't get me wrong, but when the opposition makes a really good run, we have a tendency to commit to tackles that really aren't there, and the opposing strikers just fly by. It is definitely something that we have been working on in training. On Nashville's end, they have a really well-rounded group of guys. I know that Coach Roelke has a really good résumé, and he has done an outstanding job getting those guys into a winning form. Scoring six goals, it's really hard to criticize anything they did, as they dominated us in all facets of the game. One of the things I noticed that we really needed take advantage of was that they didn't do any incredible job of stopping us from getting to the box (they did do a decent job, mind), and had we been able to capitalize on some of the opportunities we had instead of taking wild shots, the game might have been closer.
Music City Soccer: What's the home stadium/atmosphere like? Do you notice any substantial difference between how the team performs at home vs. away?
MOBA Proud: MOBA Soccer Academy is a brand-new, world-class, soccer-specific facility located just a few miles from what we consider to be the heart of Peachtree City. Featuring one FIFA-regulation training pitch and a stadium that can host both training and matches, it has taken over Peachtree City soccer. The stadium itself features stands on the western end that can seat 1,000 fans and large scoreboard on the eastern side. Being that we are an Atlanta suburb, a majority of the fans that come out to our matches are families, and we pride ourselves on being a family-friendly environment. When the weather is nice, the fans do come in bunches, filling up the stands, however the only league match we have played at our facility has been in the rain, but even then we had a great turnout, and the fans supplied a great amount of energy. It definitely isn't the loudest stadium in the world, however we love our fans and we have heard nothing but praise for the stadium and facility. When it comes to performance, we definitely seem to play a lot better in front of our own fans, as you would expect from all teams. Looking at last season and this season together, we have scored far more goals at home as opposed to on the road, however the exception to that is when we take on our rivals from Statesboro, Tormenta FC. Those games are always exciting at home or on the road, as we have not lost in the series, with the only win coming on the road, but the lone match in Peachtree City saw a 3-3 draw.
Music City Soccer: OK, so ... what does MOBA stand for?
MOBA Proud: MOBA is a German technology company that grown into a worldwide power in mobile automation (see where the name comes from? MOBA -> Mobile Automation). In 2004, Volker Harms took command of the company from his father, Paul Harms. Volker, now the president and CEO of MOBA, helped boost the company's profits and assisted in expanding globally. The US headquarters for MOBA is located in Fayetteville, Georgia, however Mr. Harms bought land in Peachtree City two years ago, and decided to move the headquarters of the company to Peachtree City. During the process, Harms, who always wanted to own a soccer team, decided to build a soccer facility on the land as well. The facility, now known as MOBA Soccer Academy, led Peachtree City to be a prime candidate for expansion into the amateur ranks, and Harms made the move to join the PDL in late 2015, with a team named Peachtree City MOBA, after the company and facility.
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