Surridge's two goals beat Cincinnati on fewer chances than usual

Nashville SC won 2-0 at TQL Stadium with fewer good chances than they normally create, and Sam Surridge settled it with two goals.

Sam Surridge scored twice as Nashville SC beat FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium, and he did it on less than Nashville usually create. Their expected goals (xG, a score for how likely each shot was to go in) came to 1.12. Away from home they average 2.21, so this was a long way short of their normal return. Surridge scored first in the 61st minute, Andy Najar setting him up, and again in the 86th, with Patrick Yazbek providing the pass.

Nashville had the ball more than Cincinnati, though by a narrower margin than usual. Their 52% possession is below the 55.3% they average on the road, while Cincinnati's 48% sits a little under the 50.4% they average at home. Shots were close to normal for both sides, with Cincinnati taking 13 and Nashville 14, which is about what each usually manages.

The difference lay in the quality of those attempts. Cincinnati's xG of 0.91 was well below the 1.46 they average at home, and only seven of their shots came from inside the penalty box. Nashville had 11 inside the box, which is why their lower total still carried a threat. Cincinnati conceded two goals, close to the 2.2 they usually let in at home, so their defensive return was ordinary even if their attacking one was not.

Cincinnati also picked up five yellow cards, three of them between the 31st and 45th minutes. Obinna Nwobodo, Evander and Samuel Mawuena Gidi were all booked before half-time, and nobody was sent off. The early cautions did not change the shape of the game in any way the events show, but they did mean a team already chasing possession was playing with its full eleven and its discipline under pressure.

Nashville's goalkeeper, B. Schwake, made five saves, the kind of work that keeps a clean sheet alive when the opposition gets into the box. Their own defence was tidy, with Patrick Yazbek winning ten duels, a figure that shows how much of the midfield contest he took. Nashville conceded nothing, against the 0.7 goals they usually concede when playing away.

Surridge was rated 9, the highest mark of the afternoon by some distance, and he earned it. He had five shots, three of them on target, which was more than any other player on either side managed. Nashville may have made fewer chances than usual, but they turned the ones they made into the two goals that mattered, and Surridge was the man who took them.

Player of the matchS. Surridge2 goals9.0

B. Schwake5 saves7.7

P. Yazbek1 assist7.7

A. Najar1 assist7.3