Ahmed Qasem scored midway through the second half in his first MLS start and Nashville SC halted its scoreless start to the season with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
Andy Najar also scored his first goal for his new club just before halftime, helped by an error from Portland goalkeeper James Pantemis, to give Nashville its first goal of the season.
Joe Willis made four stops to keep his second clean sheet after Nashville (1-1-1, 4 points) settled for a 0-0 home draw with New England on opening weekend.
Pantemis’ error marred an otherwise exceptional night, one that included eight saves. He also denied Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge on penalty shots, but Portland (1-2-0, 3 points) lost by multiple goals for a second time and was shut out for the first time this year.
Acquired from 2024-25 Europa League entrants Elfsborg in Sweden, the 21-year-old Qasem had come off the bench in his first two MLS appearances.
He made his breakthrough in the 68th minute on a relatively straightforward sequence that began when he played an early cross-field pass to Daniel Lovitz on the left.
With Mukhtar and Surridge pushing into the box, Qasem continued a late run behind them toward the left post, then met Lovitz’s return ball in the air and sent a clean header downward past Pantemis, who had too little time to react.
Earlier, Pantemis dove to his right to push Mukthar’s penalty onto the right post in the sixth minute, and then made a more comfortable stop of Surridge’s spot kick 12 minutes later.
But he should have done far better moments before halftime on Nashville’s first goal.
Najar ran onto Edvard Tagseth’s square ball on the right side of the penalty area, and instead of crossing from the narrow angle, he hammered a low shot directly at Pantemis. The goalkeeper reacted awkwardly and allowed it through his body.
It was Najar’s first MLS goal since 2021, in only his third MLS match since 2023 after he spent 2024 at Olimpia in Honduras.
–Field Level Media
