Inter Miami out of playoff race with 3-1 home loss to NYCFC in Fede Higuain’s finale
An hour had passed since Inter Miami was eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-1 home loss to New York City FC Saturday afternoon, and Federico Higuain was still on the field taking photos with his family.
The beloved Argentine, older brother of the more famous Gonzalo, announced a day earlier that Saturday’s match would be his last and although it was not the sendoff he or the team wanted, he was soaking in every possible moment.
A spirited crowd of 17,595 at DRV PNK Stadium serenaded the 37-year-old midfielder with “Ole, Ole Ole, Fede, Fede!”. Miami held its own against the favored New York visitors, the teams ended the game with almost identical stats, but Valentin Castellanos spoiled Higuain’s sendoff party.
Castellanos, a fellow Argentine, scored a pair of goals and assisted on Talles Magno’s goal to knock 11th-place Inter Miami out of the playoff race. Defender Nico Figal scored the lone goal for Miami off a Gonzalo Higuain corner kick in the 56th minute, his first goal in two seasons.
Miami coach Phil Neville said he was “massively disappointed” in the result, blamed it on lack of concentration at key moments, and made it clear that “big decisions” will be made about next season’s roster.
“Without doubt we’ve got the best supporters that clapped the players at the end when probably we didn’t deserve to be clapped,” Neville said. “This team should be in the playoffs without a shadow of the doubt with the quality we’ve got.”
He said some players have put their egos ahead of the team, and he wants to change that culture.
“Nothing I saw surprised me, nothing I saw proved to me anything other than what I already knew about this group,” Neville said. “Being really, really, really honest, what I said to the players was 14 or 15 of them will go home and think they did well individually, and they probably thought that a lot this season.
“I keep mentioning the word team is more important than individual and that’s why we lose games. We lose concentration, discipline and for moments we become individuals and that’s the biggest disappointment for me.”
The game began with a touching moment, as Higuain’s three young children stood by his side during introductions and the national anthem. He gave them each a kiss, and they left the field, stopping to hug their uncle Gonzalo before heading to their seats.
Inter Miami got off to an inspired start, dominating possession and getting four shots off in the first 21 minutes. Gonzalo Higuain had the best chance of the first half in the 16th minute when his older brother fed Blaise Matuidi, who sent a nice pass to Gonzalo in front of the goal.
Gonzalo took a weak shot, which was saved by New York keeper Sean Johnson. The younger Higuain got another look at the goal five minutes later but couldn’t get his foot on the ball.
Miami was the better team for about 30 minutes, but a knee injury to goalkeeper Nick Marsman seemed to break the team’s momentum. Marsman collided with teammate Brek Shea going for a ball. He may miss the season finale at New England next Sunday.
He was replaced by John McCarthy, who had not played since July. Miami’s defense got sloppy for a few minutes after the change and New York capitalized. Castellanos, who has scored four goals against Miami this season, got around Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, and right footed a shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Shea tried to close in but didn’t get there in time.
“We totally dominated the first 30 minutes, but two or three injury stoppages stopped the rhythm of our play and gave them the opportunity to regroup,” Neville said. “But the story is their DP had one chance, one goal, and we don’t put in our chances.”
New York led 1-0 at the half. Figal tied it at the 56th minute, but then “incredibly, three passes and the ball’s in the back of our net,” Neville said of Castallanos’ game-winning goal in the 60th minute. “Where were our central midfielders and central defenders?”
Figal said he feels the team missed the playoffs because of a lack of attention to details, which led to costly errors.
“The top teams made fewer mistakes than us, Figal said. “We have a team that should have finished higher. We have to be self-critical, every one of us. It’s very difficult these days to find a group that doesn’t have ego. That always exists. But we have to put that aside and help each other. When a teammate goes forward we have to cover for him in back, and not just support each other on the field but off the field, too.”
Both teams finished with 10 shots, four on target. Miami won 47 duels to 39 for New York. Miami led in passing accuracy and possession. But mistakes cost them.
Asked if all three Designated Players – Gonzalo Higuian, Blaise Matuidi, Rodolfo Pizarro – would return, Neville said: “They’re all contracted, so that’s the plan. But we lose discipline, we’re too emotional, and how do we change that? Personnel. We tried to change tactics. Ultimately, personnel is the one you have to change to get better results.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 6:19 PM.