NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Maybe it was the travel issues the side faced.

Maybe it was complacency in facing a last-placed side.

Maybe it was one of those nights where nothing quite went right.

Maybe it was a confluence of all those things, and a strong performance by the opponent.

As Nashville SC has tried to move past its 2-0 defeat to Toronto FC II last Saturday night, though, Head Coach Gary Smith believes the reaction he’s seen from his side over the past week is going to result in the USL Eastern Conference playoff contender coming out of the other end stronger than it was before.

“Sometimes you need a bit of a poke with a very sharp object, and that sharp object was Toronto,” said Smith. “You can say all you want, but what really is important is how the players react and what they achieve out here and their attitude. Their attitude has been spot-on. They’re hurting. I can see that. There’s more anger in their play. There’s much more determination and passion about what they’re achieving.”

That’s going to be crucial on Saturday night as Nashville heads to face the side at the opposite end of the Eastern Conference standings. The second meeting of the season between NSC and first-place FC Cincinnati is one of the biggest of the weekend’s action with Nippert Stadium expected to be rocking for the first visit of its new rival (7:30 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+). 

“I think we’ve already proven that we can hang with the best teams in the league,” said NSC midfielder Michael Reed. “The Cincinnati’s, the Louisville’s, the big games, I don’t think you can get enough motivation from that. I think the motivation comes in the training, and in the everyday to be the best player you can be and more importantly to push your team to be the best.”

With FCC having made its own high-profile additions this week – and Head Coach Alan Koch raising the possibility that Fanendo Adi could see his first action this Saturday – the challenge for the visitors seems set to be a greater one than when the sides played to a 0-0 draw at Nissan Stadium on July 7.

Smith is confident the response his side produces to last Saturday’s letdown will mean it is up to the task.

“We’re going to a very talented group of players that have just been made better,” said Smith. “We’re going to go to an environment that will be electric – 25,000 people, a rivalry that is in its infancy, but already we’ve seen the first of what I hope are many games that I’m involved in against Cincinnati. … They’ve taken a point off of us at home in an extremely exciting and pulsating game. No reason why we can’t go there and do likewise or better.”