Nashville 1-0 Charleston
August 3, 1997 — Ezell Park (Nashville, Tenn.)
Scoring Summary
NASH — Jamel Mitchell (76′)
Red-hot Nashville shuts out Charleston
(Nashville Tennessean, 08.04.97)
By Harold Huggins
Heading into the dog days of August, the red-hot Nashville Metros continued their winning ways with the right 1-2 combination.
Speedy Jamel Mitchell and iron-tight goalie Randy Dedini sparked the sizzling Metros to their sixth straight victory, discharging the Charleston Battery 1-0 yesterday before 1,274 fans at Columbia Soccer Stadium.
It appeared the Metros were heading into another shootout until Mitchell broke behind two Charleston defenders, handling a long pass from Idelfonso Cantero and beating Khalil Azmi to the left side. The lone score came with just 13:05 left in the game.
“I got a nice ball from Cantero. I had a little trouble controlling it, but once I did, I felt pretty sure I’d score,” Mitchell said.
“I went for the near [left] post,” added Mitchell, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound forward from San Diego, Calif. “This was a big win, because we needed these three points really bad.”
The three points vaulted the Metros past Orlando and into second place in the A-League Central division standings. Nashville (14-7) is jockeying for playoff positioning as it heads into a key five-game road trip, starting Wednesday in Vancouver. Only seven games remain.
Mitchell just missed a first-half goal when Dedini’s long kick from goal to Mitchell made connections, but Azmi stopped Mitchell’s head shot goalward. In the second half, the Metros’ John Smith had two good shots barely trickle wide.
“Overall, our defense played very well, although we had some dry spots,” said Dedini, who racked up his ninth shutout, including his third in a row.
“You cannot stop Jamel’s power and speed for 90 minutes,” Dedini said. “Sooner or later, he will break one. If we score a few goals on this road trip, we’ll be tough to beat.”
“The [hot] weather was a big factor in the game, and our defensive positioning was not the best at times,” Metros coach Greg Petersen said. “But I’m happy with the three points. I think we’ll do well on the trip, we’ve played well this season on the road.”
Luis Berbari will serve the second of a two-game red-card suspension at Vancouver. He returns to action Friday at Seattle.
###