FC Cincinnati (11-10-11, 43 pts.) needed a win—or at least a favorable result—to keep a playoff spot in their hands. Away to Inter Miami (15-11-6, 56, pts.) in their maiden season at Nu Stadium, these two teams produced another highly entertaining affair with a 2-2 draw. How could we think it would go any other way?
Cincinnati came into this one taking the full six points off D.C. United from their two meetings in a row. Miami, however, had something to prove after losing to New York Red Bulls in a 2-0 loss last Saturday.
The lineup for the visitors had a few swaps from the midweek soirée with D.C. Kenji Mboma Dem took Tom Barlow’s spot as the second striker next to Kévin Denkey. Dado Valenzuela replaced Pavel Bucha in the double pivot with Obinna Nwobodo. Samuel Gidi played the RCB role instead of Kyle Smith. Bryan Ramirez was still at the left wingback spot over new starter Tyrell Malacia, who remained out of the squad with his leg injury.
The home side’s lineup was the exact same from the last weekend, aside from the very noteworthy return of footballing legend Lionel Messi to his spot at right wing.
FIRST HALF
It appeared to be a much more fluid and offensive-minded lineup for Cincinnati, but the first half would prove to go the exact opposite way.
Early on, both sides had lengthy spells of possession meant to establish a foothold on things. It could be said that Cincinnati were playing to their strengths when forcing Miami backwards, but this never led to a single clear-cut chance. As the half went on, Miami also had their time to move it around and force their opponents backwards, but they were not given any room around the net.
Cincinnati’s rest defense was a low block which was sometimes tweaked to add an extra player pressing on the frontline. They would trigger an aggressive press to try and disrupt Miami’s build-up, which worked at times. But even when they weren’t feeling pressure, the home side looked prone to strange mental lapses, blatantly giving the ball away or making blunders when in their opponent’s box.
Miami would stick with the standard 4-4-2 low block, which left no space for Cincinnati in-possession.
The only half chances from either side unsurprisingly came from their marquee men. Evander created an opportunity with his corner kick in the 11th minute. However, Teenage Hadebe let his clear chance go missing. Evander also had two direct free kicks within his range, but the captain sent both into the wall.
Messi began the match receiving the ball in between the defense and midfield, but Cincinnati player leaving their press line often met him head on. Still, he found two looks; his typical one-two and shot sequence at the top of the box, both of which ricocheted off the mass of players in front of goal.
A brief injury scare occurred in the 42nd minute when Gidi went down clutching his ankle after lunging into a challenge on Messi, who picked up a yellow card. Gidi continued playing as normal after treatment by the medical staff.
The referee called for the break, and a very dull first half concluded with only Cincinnati appearing content with the result thus far.
SECOND HALF
The second half began with a noticeably quicker speed of play. As both sides sent numbers forward, there was space to attack in behind. Miami took advantage of this more than Cincinnati and created a flurry of chances that made their opponent’s low-block a lot less stable.
As the minutes ticked on, Miami genuinely tested Cincinnati’s low block. If Luis Suarez had finished either of his chances helped onto him by strike partner German Berterame, a lead would have been taken early in the second half. A poor giveaway by Gidi led to Rodrigo de Paul receiving in space, and his long knuckler, the first on target, was parried away by Roman Celentano.
By the 61st minute, none of those missed chances mattered. As the entire second half had foreshadowed, Miami finally took the lead. Some rapid passing in the corner of the box found Suarez, who curled one off the top right post. The deficit required Cincinnati to be more aggressive, as Columbus taking a lead in their match meant the playoff spots were still up for grabs.
Some sequences of non-threatening possession had Cincinnati staring into a troubling loss. The offense looked out of gear, especially as Evander was not operating in his usual pockets of space. But in the 80th minute, Kenji Mboma-Dem challenged his man and put a gorgeous curling shot into the left side netting. Cincinnati were not going to be just giving away these crucial three points.
Evander used the momentum as motivation. In the 84th minute, he attempted to go all the way with a silky dribbling run, but his whack was deflected away. Just two minutes later, he was leading a counterattack with space ahead and found the right pass to Barlow, whose layoff to Gidi at the top of the defense was nestled into the bottom left corner. The hockey assist is as good as an assist in MLS.
It looked like the midfielder, finally being able to play his position again, had scored Cincinnati the goal that would clinch their place in the playoffs. However, right around the 90th minute mark, more individual heroics would bring it back to level. Miami’s newcomer Riquelme Fillipi took on Powell and sent a low bender past an outstretched Celentano.
The roller coaster of emotions had two more bumps to go. A minute into stoppage time, Suarez sent a worm-burner off the gloves of Celentano. Three minutes after that, a clear look for Evander in the center of the box was denied by a game-saving clearance from Ian Fray.
The referee closed things out at a 2-2 draw, which included three goals in the span of ten minutes.
The result, with the help of a New York Red Bulls loss, brings FC Cincinnati four points above the playoff line. However, the draw means they have to wait to secure it against either Philadelphia or Nashville.
Miami are vying for that second-place spot. Settling for a point tonight means that New England, who won their match, are now two points ahead in that spot. This coming matchup between the two will decide who finishes there and who locks in a more favorable draw for the Round One Series.
Box Score:
MIA (4-3-3): Dayne St. Clair (GK); Sergio Reguilón (Ian Fray 45’), Micael, Casemiro, Gonzalo Lujan; Rodrigo de Paul, David Ayala, Matias Galarza (Telasco Segovia 45’); German Berterame (Riquelme Fillipi 83’), Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi (C).
CIN (3-5-2): Roman Celentano (GK); Teenage Hadebe (Alvas Powell 72’), Nick Hagglund, Samuel Gidi; Bryan Ramirez, Obinna Nwobodo (Brian Anunga 72’), Evander (C), Dado Valenzuela (Kyle Smith 62’), David Doudera (Tom Barlow 46’); Kévin Denkey, Kenji Mboma Dem (José Martinez 90’).
Discipline:
MIA: Lionel Messi – (Yellow Card, 44’)
MIA: Telasco Segovia – (Yellow Card, 90+2’)
MIA: Luis Suarez – (Yellow Card, 90+4’)
Scoring Summary:
Inter Miami: Luis Suarez 61’ (Casemiro), Riquelme Fillipi 90’ (De Paul)
FC Cincinnati: Kenji Mboma Dem 80’ (Evander), Sami Gidi 86’ (Barlow)
Next Match:
Major League Soccer: vs. Philadelphia Union, 2PM, Saturday October 31st, AppleTV+
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