- Match: Atlanta United vs Nashville SC
- Location: First Tennessee Park, Nashville, TN
- Date: February 10, 2017
- Final Score: ATL 3-1 NSC (Recap | Photos)
Gerardo "Tata" Martino - Atlanta United Head Coach
“I think it was a nice game due to the fact that the opponent was intense today. They pressed us high so we weren’t able to do everything that we wanted to do. They forced us into playing a high-level game with high tempo.”
Brad Guzan - Atlanta United goalkeeper
(On the field conditions)
“Obviously they weren’t ideal, but at the end of the day, we’ve been in preseason for three or three and a half weeks. They’ve just joined up together. It was a good run out, regardless of the conditions, and there were some exciting moments for the fans.”
(On the difference between playing an MLS team and USL team)
“I think they’ve only been together for 12 days, and it’s a fair play to them. They were very organized. They had quality players, and I think when MLS does come eventually, it is going to be a hit here. I think this team in USL will be a very good team. I know Gary Smith is an organized manager, and he’ll be able to get the most out of his players. … I think this will be a big soccer market and a big soccer city. We’re excited to be just down the road when they get in the league.”
Gary Smith - Nashville SC Head Coach
It was very wet, if have to be perfectly honest my group,I thought they conducted themselves very well certainly in the first period - that's going to be our most experienced outlet that won't necessarily be the final 11. Looking back at the last two weeks, extremely pleased defensively we looked difficult to breakdown, There was some very nice interchanges of play. Would've liked to be a slightly bigger threat on goal...but when all said and done, when you look up the makeup of their group and the experience they have there, we have been given a pretty decent account of ourselves. 2nd period we’re in a phase that the generally fitness of the group is important - A much younger outfit - ‘Alan Winn’ here has an awful lot to give plenty of talent but not much experience and i thought that showed in the second period. Two goals that I thought were very avoidable and one that got stuck in the puddle was certainly we didn't have a lot of control of.
The biggest takeaways were there were some performances that really stuck out for me that I wasn't expecting. I thought Tucker Hume was a real handful, not just in the air which we would expect because he's a giant but his technique were very good and he uses his body well and there were 3-4 other guys in that group that slowly but surely, if they continue the process, they will get close the the starting 11 or even 18.
Ropapa Mensah - Nashville SC Forward
“I am happy because out of the whole Nashville SC team, I am the one who scored. We are so proud to have so many supporters behind the team.”
“I saw the keepers movement, that he was going down low, so I knew I had to chip it over him.”
