Inter Miami may have to call in defensive reinforcements for road game at Red Bulls
Inter Miami might be forced to play one of its most critical games of the season with a decimated defense due to new injuries and the departure of left back Christian Makoun, who was called up to the Venezuelan national team for three upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Center back Nico Figal left Sunday’s 1-0 road loss to Portland in the 56th minute with an apparent leg injury. He had just returned to the lineup after a two-game suspension. Midfielder Gregore, a defense-minded player also back after a suspension, banged heads with a Portland player in the closing minutes and had to leave the game for concussion protocol.
Left wingback Brek Shea went out in the 79th minute after tangling legs with a Timbers defender. Victor Ulloa, who was expected to return after missing four games with a thigh injury, did not make the game roster.
The status of those four players is unknown heading into a pivotal road game Saturday against the New York Red Bulls, which beat Miami 4-0 a few weeks ago, setting off a four-game losing streak. Miami has scored just one goal in those four games. The team is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, eight points shy of the final playoff spot with seven games to go.
The Red Bulls are in ninth place, also battling for the playoffs.
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said after the Portland loss: “The gap is becoming big, the clock is ticking, and you can’t beat the clock. We’re probably going to have to win five or six of our last seven games.”
The team was off Monday after arriving from Portland at 4 a.m. They will resume training Tuesday.
Miami’s defense was already thin with season-ending injuries to Ryan Shawcross (back) and Joevin Jones (knee), as well as a knee injury to Ventura Alvarado. Kieran Gibbs has been bothered by a groin injury, though he came off the bench against Portland.
If Inter Miami falls below 16 healthy field players, it can call up players from its USL Fort Lauderdale team for up to four-day stints under the MLS “Extreme Hardship” rule. When this came up a few weeks ago, Neville said players who might have been called in were 6-6 draft pick Aime Mabika, Harvey Neville (the coach’s son), Modesto Mendez, and Noah Allen.
Stat Breakdown
Miami had 13 shots against Portland and five were on frame by Jay Chapman, Gonzalo Higuain, Lewis Morgan, Shea (two). The most accurate passers among the starters were: Robbie Robinson (95.2 percent), Figal (95 percent), Gregore (94.1 percent), and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez (91.2 percent).
Lewis Morgan on scoring drought
Morgan, asked why the team has so much trouble scoring, said: “There’s certainly been a lack of goals the last few games and I think it’s just a commitment to getting in the box, wanting to score. Maybe it’s a little bit of quality, maybe a commitment thing where you make those runs in the box and really believe you’re going to score. It’s quite natural when you’re not winning games that you lack a little bit of belief at the last little bit (of the field), but we’ve got so much quality on the team, so I don’t think it’s a quality thing at all. It’s just a mentality and belief thing and need to be more ruthless in the final third.”
Neville on Robbie Robinson
Neville, asked to comment on the development of forward Robbie Robinson, replied:
“I thought he was really good against Atlanta in terms of his movement. We didn’t always find him with the right passes, but he had our best chance against Atlanta, and had a couple of chances (against Portland) where I thought he should have done better in terms of backing into the back of the box, turning and shooting. When you play these teams away from home, you’re not going to get floods and floods of opportunities. The one or two you get, we had 11 shots and 3 or 4 really good chances, you have to be ruthless and take them. Stick the ball in the back of the net. The real best strikers in the world and in this league punish you.
“That ruthlessness is what we’re trying to educate Robbie on, we’re trying to develop him. He’s a young boy, still trying to learn how to become a real top, top player. We have big hopes for him and have invested a lot in him. Ultimately we hope the goals will come.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 1:44 PM.