Match 4: Indy vs. Nashville SC, 4/14

The next two home matches will begin to give us a sense of how Indy will draw at LOS. The home opener was massive, but home openers are always a big deal, and this one was against a new regional rival that brought its own substantial crowd. Now Indy plays its first noon game (on what is forecast to be a miserable day--so being inside will help, but the rain might persuade some people to stay home anyway), followed by its first Wednesday night game (though that one will be a return visit by FC Cincinnati, so it may not exactly be typical). If Indy is going to succeed as an ongoing concern, it really needs to be able to pull in crowds at oddly scheduled times--we've got a whole bunch of Wednesday games coming up--four out of five home games in August and September.

These games will be a big test on the field as well. So far, Indy has beaten two pretty dismal teams and has lost to one decent one. Nashville SC seems to be a decent one--at least, they've won two in a row. FCC is decent as well, and in between there's an away match at Charlotte, which also seems to be decent. Indy needs to start winning a few of these games.

I'm still getting a feel for this new squad and am looking forward to being at LOS tomorrow for lunch.

 

Opening go by Saad, Indy’s first home goal of the year, on a quick breakaway. Nicely done.

 

Another goal for Saad off a free kick. Indy is playing with confidence now.

 

Nashville goal right before the half. Argh.

 

A good game on the whole. Indy created a few chances in the second half, as did Nashville. For the most part, the second half felt comfortable; Nashville never put Indy under sustained pressure. Soony Saad may have been pretty much a bust in MLS, but he seems a good player at this level. With a record of 3W 0D 1L, I think we can officially say that Indy is off to a good start.

As for the fan experience, it definitely was odd looking across the field at a vast expanse of empty seats. And that's going to be the norm going forward--I can see them possibly opening the whole lower bowl when Louisville comes to town next month, but for most of the season its going to just be the two ends and one sideline. It feels odd. Granted, it wasn't that much different at Carroll, looking across from the main stand, but at least there were some people there.

The announced crowd today was in excess of 10,000. My guess is that actual attendance was more like 8,000. There were plenty of empty seats.

 

Really, this is just not a great look.