Inter Miami playoff chances on life support after 2-1 road loss to Toronto FC
Inter Miami squandered a second-half lead for the second game in a row and will now need help from other teams to squeak into the playoffs.
French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi scored his first MLS goal in the 42nd minute to give Inter Miami the lead, and a trio of seldom-used defenders fought hard, but the team fell short 2-1 to Toronto FC on a frigid, blustery Sunday night in East Hartford, Conn.
The game was played at the University of Connecticut’s Rentschler Field because of COVID-19 travel restrictions between the Canadian and U.S. borders.
With one game remaining in the regular season, Nov. 8 at home against last-place FC Cincinnati, Miami is clinging to postseason dreams in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-13-3 record and 21 points.
The top 10 teams advance to the playoffs. Standing between Miami and the playoff line are Atlanta United and Chicago Fire with 22 points and Montreal Impact with 23 points. Chicago has the edge with a game in hand.
Sunday’s game played out exactly like Wednesday night’s 2-1 road loss at FC Dallas. Miami took a halftime lead, but then gave up two second-half goals – one of them a PK – and headed home with heartbreaking losses.
“In both of the past two games we had a chance to win, especially this game, we played well and had possibility of winning or at least get a tie, two great matches against two great opponents on the road, but the errors have gotten us to this point,” said Miami coach Diego Alonso. “We have to confront them and continue to work for next Sunday’s game and have hope because we are still alive.”
Alonso stressed that mistakes have cost the team critical games all season.
“The mistakes we have made this season have not allowed us to easily qualify for the playoffs and tonight was a perfect example. After playing a great match with three key players missing, AJ De La Garza , Alvas Powell and (Christian) Makoun played great in their place, we clearly deserved to win, but we lost.”
The odds were stacked against Miami heading into the Toronto game, as the visitors were forced to play without three starting defenders against one of the league’s highest-scoring teams.
Nico Figal, who started every game and played nearly every minute this season, injured his left leg in the previous game and is out for several weeks. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and Andres Reyes were suspended for yellow card accumulation.
They were replaced by MLS veteran A.J. de la Garza, starting his third game, and seldom-used Alvas Powell and Christian Makoun, who were each playing their third game this season and starting for the second time.
Powell, a speedy Jamaican national who battled injuries, made his first appearance since coming off the bench on July 20 in the MLS is Back Tournament. It was his first start since the season opener.
The patchwork back line held its own for much of the game, being the aggressors and keeping Toronto’s attack at bay.
Inter Miami took the lead just before halftime with a 43rd-minute left-footed angled shot by Matuidi, who celebrated with a dance in the corner of the field. The goal was created by hard-working winger Lewis Morgan, who tried to center the ball, had the pass deflected by a defender, got his foot on the rebound, and crossed it to Matuidi, who slotted it in.
“I feel better and better with the team, but I am obviously disappointed with the result,” Matuidi said. “I feel the team did what we needed. We did not deserve to lose, we created more chances than they did, and we still have one more chance.”
Asked why the team continues to squander leads with mistakes, Matuidi said: “It’s a matter of staying focused, and reminding ourselves that the game is 90 minutes. This is work we have to do as a team. We showed what we can do in that first half and need to organize and stay focused. They were small mistakes that cost us. We have a young team, and need to continue to learn and grow.”
Miami forward Gonzalo Higuain stood out all game with pinpoint passes and playmaking, but failed to find the back of the net once again. Through eight games with the team he has scored one goal on a free kick.
Higuain had a point-blank shot that he cranked over the bar in the first half. It was called off-side anyway, but he missed the net. In the second half, he took a beautiful rocket of a shot, but it hit the post.
Toronto’s rising 20-year-old star Ayo Akinola scored the equalizer in the 55th minute, getting behind Powell and knocking in a close-range shot from a Patrick Mullins cross.
And then in the 84th minute, Miami’s Ben Sweat was called for a foul in the box and Alejandro Pozuelo converted the game-winning PK. Miami goalkeeper John McCarthy, playing in place of injured captain Luis Robles, stayed in the middle of the box and the shot went to his left.
Alonso did not blame McCarthy for the PK Sunday or Wednesday.
“John is the one has to make the decisions. He studies all the penalty kickers. I know the goalkeepers sometimes stand in middle because sometimes they kick to the middle...I don’t think they were his fault. He has done a great job so far in place of Luis Robles.”
Miami’s final regular-season game is Sunday against last-place FC Cincinnati.
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 10:21 PM.