Expanded season
Gritty Inter Miami clinches playoff spot
FORT LAUDERDALE — Inter Miami CF are going to the 2020 MLS Cup playoffs.
Considering how unlucky the club’s been since its inception — from not playing in the yet-to-be constructed Miami Freedom Park to marquee signings arriving late in the season — it wasn’t surprising for Inter Miami to deal with the circumstances they did in their regular-season finale Sunday at Inter Miami CF Stadium, a 2-1 victory versus FC Cincinnati.
Inter Miami were down two starting defenders (Nico Figal and Ben Sweat) and a key reserve (Brek Shea) due to injuries.
With Tropical Storm Eta looming, the combination of the wind — which reached up to 30 miles per hour in Fort Lauderdale, where the match was being played — and rain created a less than ideal environment for a soccer game.
“That was horrible,” said Inter Miami defender Mikey Ambrose, with the wind moving so uncontrollably that Wil Trapp had to hold the ball for Lewis Morgan during a free kick early in the match. “I’ve played some horrible games with the weather before, but this one was probably the worst one.”
But Inter Miami (7-13-3, 24 points) didn’t allow the game’s circumstances to stop them.
They took care of business against Cincinnati despite the obstacles they were dealing with to become the seventh MLS expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in its first season.
“There’s been so much pressure all year and we take on that pressure,” Ambrose said. “We know it hasn’t been the best of years for us. To win that game and make it into the playoffs, it was just a little bit of relief and joy. We’ve been working hard and deserved to get in.”
In spite of the less than optimal circumstances, Inter Miami had good fortune from the matches involving the other teams in contention for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Chicago Fire FC and Atlanta United FC dropped points in their respective games on Sunday, helping Inter Miami clinch the 10th seed in the conference.
The top-10 clubs in the 14-team East qualified for the playoffs.
The Montreal Impact clinched the ninth seed in the East after beating D.C. United, 3-2. The Chicago Fire, who entered Sunday as the 10th seed, lost to New York City FC, 4-3. Atlanta United, who entered Sunday in 11th place, lost to Columbus Crew SC, 2-1.
Inter Miami will play fellow expansion team Nashville SC (8-78, 32 points) — the seventh seed in the East — in a play-in match at 9 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Nissan Stadium to determine who’ll advance to the playoffs’ first round.
They’re expected to be without Rodolfo Pizarro against Nashville, according to Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso, with the midfielder being called up to play in friendlies for Mexico’s national team against South Korea (Nov. 14) and Japan (Nov. 17) during the upcoming FIFA international window.
Pizarro will have to quarantine for at least 10 days, according to a club spokesperson, due to MLS’s COVID-19 protocol for international travel.
If Inter Miami beats Nashville, they’ll face the Philadelphia Union (14-4-5, 47 points) in the next round.
The Union are the No. 1 seed in the East and won the Supporters’ Shield — which is awarded to the MLS team with the best regular-season record — after beating the New England Revolution, 2-0, on Sunday.
Toronto FC (No. 2 seed), Columbus Crew (No. 3), Orlando City SC (No. 4), NYCFC (No. 5), New York Red Bulls (No. 6) and New England (No. 8) were the other teams to qualify for the playoffs in the East.
“We have a lot of players on this team who’ve played a lot of games in this situation,” said Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who won the MLS Cup with Atlanta United in 2018. “The most difficult for us was qualifying. Now, we have more confidence to play these kinds of games.”
Ambrose, who started at left back in place of Sweat, had the game’s opening score for the first goal of his MLS career.
After a Lewis Morgan corner kick was deflected outside of Cincinnati’s box, Ambrose gathered the ball with a touch and sent a left-footed shot past Spencer Richey in the 19th minute to put Inter Miami up, 1-0.
Ambrose started in two and made appearances in five of Inter Miami’s previous 22 matches entering Sunday.
“Ambrose has been behind Sweat for a long time,” Alonso said. “Today’s goal is his reward for the hard work he’s put in. Today’s performance is exclusive merit for him.”
Gonzalez Pirez scored Inter Miami’s second goal four minutes later with an assist from Morgan on a corner kick to give them a 2-0 lead. The score was his second of the season, with both of his goals coming off corner-kick assists from Morgan.
Cincinnati closed in on Inter Miami in the 66th minute when Joseph-Claude Gyau slotted a slot past John McCarthy to bring their lead down to, 2-1.
Inter Miami looked like they were in danger when center back Andres Reyes was given his second yellow card and disqualified from the match, dropping Miami to 10 players on the field.
But they held on for the victory and celebrated with the team drenched in rain in front of the 2,703 fans in attendance who stuck through the inclement weather.
“We were happy to celebrate with our fans,” Alonso said. “We’re delighted to dedicate this moment to the fans. Under these circumstances, the fans still showed up and they’ve been incredible. This win and playoffs are for the fans.”