Despite numerous offensive chances, the visiting New York Red Bulls were stymied by Nashville SC goalkeeper Joe Willis — and the woodwork, at times — during Sunday’s season-opening 0-0 draw.
The aggressor most of the day, New York outshot Nashville 16-5 overall and 4-3 on target, but left frustrated after Willis and some bad luck denied it a full three points. The Red Bulls, in Sandro Schwarz’s debut as coach, remained undefeated all-time against Nashville at 2-0-3.
Meanwhile, Nashville avoided defeat while playing without injured star Hany Mukhtar (hamstring) and expected offensive contributor Sam Surridge (shoulder). After being outplayed in the first half, Nashville showed life in the second half.
The hosts earned their first of three corners in the 84th minute. Nashville’s best scoring chance came when newcomer Tyler Boyd’s right-footed drive was punched away by Red Bulls keeper Carlos Coronel.
New York’s first prime scoring chance came in the 15th minute. However, after a stellar set-up from touted newcomer Emil Forsberg, Elias Manoel’s point-blank shot was punched away by Willis, who recorded his 60th regular-season clean sheet.
At 21 minutes, the Red Bulls nearly came through again. This time, Dante Vanzeir’s chip at an open goal hit the far post.
Just minutes later, it appeared Nashville would be down a man when Sean Davis was initially shown a red card for a kick to the head of New York’s Peter Stroud on a contested ball. However, upon the review, the call was overturned, with Davis issued a yellow.
Meanwhile, Franuel Amaya nearly opened the scoring for New York, but again Willis bailed his side out with a diving save in the 32nd minute. Then in the 45th, Willis was up to kicking away Forsberg’s nearby turnaround strike to keep the match scoreless.
New York, which held a 10-1 advantage in first-half total shots, again knocked on the door when Willis apparently got his fingers on Amaya’s long strike before the ball hit the crossbar in the 63rd. Then roughly 10 minutes later, Forsberg was the next Red Bull to hit the crossbar.
–Field Level Media
