Inter Miami stays winless after managing just two shots on goal in loss at FC Cincinnati
Nearly 30 minutes had passed since the end of Inter Miami CF’s latest loss Saturday and Phil Neville, after spending close to a half hour trying to get his message across to his players, sat down at his postgame press conference, messed with his hair and broke into a long analysis of the 3-1 loss to FC Cincinnati.
It started off simply enough.
“Obviously,” the coach said, “I’m really disappointed.”
He explained the things he liked that he saw from Inter Miami’s shutout loss to Los Angeles FC last Saturday and the ways he hoped his team would build on it in Cincinnati. He ran through the defensive game plan he had to try to slow down FC Cincinnati’s cross-happy offense and the ways it failed on all three of Cincinnati’s goals. At the end, he gave a stark assessment as Miami gets ready to head into a two-week international break.
“The biggest things we need to improve on,” he said, “are the basics.”
Those, he said, are keeping the ball out of the net and putting it in the other one.
Through four games, Inter Miami (0-3-1) still hasn’t won. Miami has dropped three in a row since its scoreless draw with Chicago Fire FC in the season opener, and has given up 10 goals and scored just two, and one of those was on a penalty kick Saturday.
Inter Miami has still yet to lead at any point this season and was down 2-0 in the first 25 minutes Saturday. In the 18th minute, FC Cincinatti forward Brandon Vazquez delivered a cross to Ronald Matarrita, and the Cincinnati defender volleyed a shot past goalkeeper Drake Callendar — pressed into duty because of injuries to fellow goalies Nick Marsman and Clement Diop — for the opening goal. Six minutes later, Matarrita crossed to Vazquez and Vazquez headed a shot past Callender to give FC Cincinnati (2-0-2) a 2-0 lead in the 24th minute.
Miami scored its only goal in the 30th minute on a penalty kick by forward Gonzalo Higuain — the first goal of the season for Inter Miami’s highest-paid player — and then didn’t put a second shot on goal until the 78th minute when it finally created some chances with three late corner kicks. In the 82nd, Matarrita again linked up with Vazquez on a cross and Vazquez scored on another header to put away.
The only positive from the match, Neville said, was Inter Miami was able to get defender Kieran Gibbs and forward Robbie Robinson into the game after both missed the first three matches with injury. He was also pleased with the play of defender Deandre Yedlin, he later said.
Otherwise, Cincinnati mostly dominated Miami in front of 19,365 at TQL Stadium. Although time of possession was split 50-50, FC Cincinnati outshot Inter Miami, 16-13, and 6-2 in shots on goal. Miami’s finishing in the attacking third was virtually nonexistent.
“When you’re on a run like we are, people do get nervous, people do get tight, people probably don’t quite see the passes that they see,” Neville said, “but I expect them to see the passes and make the passes.”
Now Major League Soccer will take a two-week break and Inter Miami, without many players heading out on international assignments, will have some badly needed time to reset after a garish start to their season.
“It’s only four games into the season,” defensive midfielder Mo Adams said. “The way you start isn’t always the way you finish.”
