Nashville SC remain unbeaten at home after a stoppage-time header from Abu Danladi rescued a 1-1 draw with CF Montréal at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night.
Montréal were looking for revenge after the teams met at Nissan Stadium earlier this season and Nashville came from two goals down in the second half to force a 2-2 draw. The visitors tapped in James Pantemis for Clement Diop who came down with an injury and played through the final minutes of stoppage time in Montréal's 0-0 draw midweek.
The Canadian keeper felt the pressure in the first half, giving the ball away on two occasions. While Nashville dominated the opportunities, Montréal's backline bent but didn't break and the teams remained scoreless heading into halftime.
Nashville tested the Montréal defense early in the second half. At the 49th minute, Aníbal Godoy challenged Pantemis with a lobbed shot that forced him to dive towards the near post and palm the ball out of bounds for a corner kick.
Then just past the hour mark, Kiki Struna found the first goal of the game, opening his CF Montréal account off a corner kick. The Slovenian leaped and used the back of his head to direct the ball to the bottom right hand corner.
Nashville also had one of their best opportunities of the night off a corner kick. Abu Danladi was at the right pace at the right time along the far post to tap the ball in but Pantemis dove the the final moment to block his shot out of harm's way.
Danladi tried his luck once again at the 80th minute and the striker thought this attempt was the one but Pantemis again had other plans.
It finally worked the third time around for Danladi as Nashville found the equalizer in stoppage time. The Ghanaian found the end of a Jack Maher cross and sent a powerful header past Pantemis to bring the score level and keep Nashville's unbeaten run at home intact.
Three things
THE BIG PICTURE: Nashville SC’s unbeaten run at home is still alive. Abu Danladi late header epitomized Nashville's never-say-die spirit and gave them a seventh game at home without a loss. CF Montréal will be kicking themselves on the plane ride back from Tennessee. Wifried Nancy’s squad thought they had stolen a win from Nashville SC but succumbed to the pressure late in the game and will have the feeling they left two points in Nashville.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Third time's the charm for Abu Danaldi. After being denied twice by James Pantemis, Danladi's third effort gave Nashville SC the equalizer in stoppage time.
MAN OF THE MATCH: James Pantemis stood tall filling in for the injured Clement Diop. Despite the late equalizer, the 24 year-old gave his team a chance to get a result in Nashville.
Next up
NSH: Saturday, July 3 vs Philadelphia Union | 8pm ET | MLS Live on EPSN+**
MTL: Saturday, July 3 vs Inter Miami CF (at Red Bull Arena) | 7:30pm ET | MLS Live on ESPN+, TVA Sports
