New England Revolution hands Inter Miami its sixth MLS loss in a row
Lionel Messi cannot join Inter Miami soon enough.
Inter Miami reached the midway point of the MLS season by tying the franchise record for consecutive losses after suffering an ugly 3-1 defeat to the host New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Carles Gil, Matt Polster, and Bobby Wood scored for the hosts before Josef Martinez pulled one back late via a penalty in the rainy Eastern Conference affair at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The defeat capped a grueling stretch of 14 games in 50 days for last-place Inter Miami, and extended the team’s current losing streak to six games. That latter mark ties Inter Miami’s worst ever run of results, dropping the South Florida side to 5-0-12 this season.
“I do not like this [constant losing], and I am frustrated,” Inter Miami interim head coach Javier Morales said. “I am in a bad way because we are in a situation that is not a good one, and we have to show face.”
Added centerback Sergii Kryvtsov: “Everybody in our team is sad, angry. Nobody likes to lose, and it is bad feelings.”
Making things even worse for Inter Miami was that attacker Corentin “Coco” Jean sustained a concerning injury midway through the first half that forced him to be carted off on a stretcher.
Jean went down without contact while stepping up to press, and he writhed in pain on the turf field for several minutes before clutching onto head athletic trainer Kei Utsumi as the Frenchman was tended to.
“It does not look good,” Morales said. “We will have an MRI this week to confirm what the injury is.”
Inter Miami fielded a younger starting lineup than usual, with four players 20-years old or less in the XI. That quartet was comprised entirely of Homegrown Players, including Benjamin Cremaschi, David Ruiz, Ian Fray, and Noah Allen.
Regular starting left back Franco Negri missed the match as a result of him being in Major League Soccer’s concussion protocol while first-choice central defender Kamal Miller served a one-game ban for the red card he received in last week’s 2-1 home loss to D.C. United.
Inter Miami and the Revolution traded early chances in the first half, but the hosts drew first blood in the 27th minute. Inter Miami right back and captain DeAndre Yedlin was whistled for a foul in the 18-yard box after committing a clumsy challenge on Polster, giving Gil a penalty that was converted with a low shot to the right.
Almost immediately after Jean left the game with injury, Polster doubled the lead with a 34th-minute header. Gil whipped in a corner kick from the right, and a rising Polster beat both Kryvtsov and midfielder David Ruiz to the ball to nod it inside of the far post.
“I thought we executed our plan well during the first 25 minutes up until the penalty kick,” Morales said. “… A chaos appeared after the two goals, and we felt that from an emotional standpoint.”
Inter Miami conceded again six minutes after halftime. Gil hit a through ball in from beyond the midfield line that found a streaking Wood, who cut past scrambling centerback Christopher McVey before finishing to the near post past goalkeeper Drake Callender.
Martinez, who was one of many players that cut a frustrated figure during the match, provided the Herons’ lone consolation goal in the 84th minute. Substitute striker Leonardo Campana was fouled in the penalty area, and that allowed Martinez to score his fourth goal of the season with a low take to the right on the ensuing spot kick.
“The team never gave up and kept trying until the last minute,” Morales said. “The difference is in the areas. They finished off the chances they had, and it proved very difficult for us in our final third.”
Inter Miami now heads into the international break, with the team’s next match not until the June 24 visit vs. the Philadelphia Union.
The short-handed Herons will need to regroup during that time in order to try and rebound during the second half of the season, which should include the arrival of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. Earlier this week, Messi announced that he planned to sign with Inter Miami.
“The short-term objective is to rest these next two days, and to use the two-week break to prepare ourselves,” Morales said. “Hopefully we can start to show better and compete better during the second part of the season, so that we can try to win games and make the playoffs.”