Inter Miami hoping for electric crowd, win at home against Orlando City Friday night
Phil Neville said one of the first things he did when he was named Inter Miami coach in January was to check and see when the team plays against Orlando City.
The two Florida clubs developed a rivalry during Inter Miami’s debut season last year, and Neville has been looking forward to Friday night’s home matchup (8 p.m., FS1).
However, he did not anticipate that his team would be stuck in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, mired in a three-game winless, scoreless streak. Although a boisterous home crowd is expected at DRV PNK Stadium, Miami (2-5-2) enters the game as the underdog against second-place Orlando City, which is coming off a 5-0 rout of San Jose.
Orlando has scored eight goals in the past two games. Young American talent Daryl Dike returned from a loan to English club Barnsley and scored two goals in the win over San Jose. Among the other Orlando scoring threats are Portuguese midfielder and captain Nani, who has five goals this season, Canadian forward Tesho Akindele (3 goals, 4 assists) and Americans Benji Michel and Chris Mueller.
The teams played four times last season, and Miami won both home games — 2-1 on Oct. 24 and 3-2 on Aug. 22. Orlando won 2-1 at home on Sept. 12 and 2-1 July 8 in the MLS is Back tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports near Orlando.
At least 250 Orlando fans are expected to travel for Friday’s game.
“I think the atmosphere is going to be incredible,” Neville said. “Our fans have been our 12th player this season. They’ve probably been our best player so far this season, as far as their encouragement. We’re going to need them Friday night.
“We’re going to make it as hostile as we can. We want to make sure we build up this rivalry. That’s what makes football so attractive. It’s on national TV, prime time. These are the games I hope my players want to play in and perform in. We owe our supporters a great performance at home.”
A sellout crowd showed up for Inter Miami’s last home game but left disappointed after a 3-0 loss to D.C. United. Boos could be heard late in the game.
“Rightly so,” Neville said of the fans’ disapproval. “They pay their money, and they expect to be entertained. The last game I felt the same way they did and the players felt the same way.”
Inter Miami might be without two of its three Designated Players — Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain and Mexican midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro. Higuain did not travel to the D.C. game as he is improving his fitness level, while Pizarro has not played in a month due to a hip injury. Both did light practice this week, but their status for the game is unknown.
Miami defender Ryan Shawcross and midfielder Gregore are suspended due to red cards.
“We’re coming up against an outstanding team, one of the best in our conference with a manager of great experience,” Neville said. “I’ve watched a lot of Orlando. They’ve got really good players and play with high energy. So, we’re going to have to be at our best. This is probably going to be our biggest test. Philadelphia is an outstanding team, but I think Orlando will be the team to beat.”
Miami winger Lewis Morgan hopes the team regains the form it had when they last played Orlando.
“Orlando is a good side, but when we played them, we were quite even,” Morgan said. “We don’t have anything to fear. The games we played did have goals., Hopefully we can bring that to the table. The games against them have more needle to them because it’s a rivalry.”
Despite their underwhelming record and absence of key players, Morgan said the locker room mood remains positive.
“We don’t feel sorry for ourselves,” he said. “Of course there’s disappointment, but we are pushing in the right direction. No one can say we weren’t more compact as a team off the ball against D.C. We were harder to break down. Knowing we can limit opponents’ chances, we can be more expansive going forward. It’s a slow process, but we know there’s pressure on us to start winning games.”