Nashville SC U23 dominated the match but had to settle for a draw against the SC United Bantams on Saturday night. In NSC's second-straight match with its revamped attacking band, the Boys In Gold showed no shortage of creativity in the final third but just missed on several scoring chances, including a shot from Logan Paynter in the 87th minute that looked so good it fooled most of the crowd and the public address announcer. Nashville had a few more scoring chances after that but just couldn't finish, and the game ended knotted at a goal apiece.
By dropping two points in their final regular season home match of the season, NSC squandered an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and Charlotte Eagles in the race for the South Atlantic Division's second Eastern Conference playoff spot. Charlotte, which lost 1-0 to Tobacco Road FC on Saturday night, now trails Nashville by two points, with a game in hand for the Eagles. Division leaders Myrtle Beach Mutiny beat the Wilmington Hammerheads 6-2 and should enjoy a comfortable run-in, now five points clear of second-place Nashville.
Despite the frustrating result, there were plenty of positives to take away from Nashville's performance. Putting Fletcher Eckern at center forward seems to have given the Boys In Gold a much-needed spark in the final third. NSC's equalizing goal came in the 20th minute on a header from Damiloa Omitaomu at the end of a series of chances created by a great through ball to an overlapping runner from Eckern. The switch to a forward line of Paynter, Eckern, and Omitaomu seems to have been a good call by coach Kyle Roelke.
After a rough run in the starting eleven for Nashville's 3-2 loss against Peachtree City last Wednesday, Shak Adams once again proved how dangerous he can be when his fresh legs come onto the field during the second half of a game. Adams was dangerous running up and down the right wing, where between Adams and Omitaomu, Nashville created many of its best chances on Saturday night.
Nashville now head into their last two matches of the regular season, on the road to Tri-Cities Otters and Derby City Rovers, likely needing to come away with six points to feel safe in their quest for a playoff spot. The good news is that the two teams on NSC's heels, Charlotte Eagles and North Carolina FC U23, have to play each other twice over the next two weeks. And the other two games on NCFC's schedule are the division-leading Mutiny.
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