Miami’s revamped defense will be tested by Austin
Inter Miami, coming off a season-opening scoreless tie in front of its adoring home fans, now hits the road to play at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It will be a battle of nascent clubs with celebrity owners — David Beckham is co-owner of Miami and actor Matthew McConaughey is part-owner of Austin. Both clubs have passionate fan groups with a Latin flair — “La Familia” for Miami and “Los Verdes” for Austin, so it should be a fun atmosphere for the match (4 p.m., ESPN).
Austin won its home opener 5-0 against Cincinnati. Miami defenders will have to be on their toes from the opening whistle. Cecilio Dominguez, Alex Ring and Sebastian Driussi are players to watch.
“We know we’re playing a team that’s very, very good with the ball, so defensively we have to be ready,” said Miami right back DeAndre Yedlin, the U.S. national team veteran who joined Inter Miami last month. “They’re going to be confident. Anytime you win by that score it brings confidence and momentum. Especially the first 15 minutes they’re going to come at us with a lot of pressure, so we have to be ready to absorb that, and also be comfortable on the ball and be ready to get behind them because we have tools on this team that can get behind them.”
Inter Miami overhauled its roster after two disappointing seasons, and one of the priorities was adding speed. Yedlin and new midfielder Ariel Lassiter are both known for their pace and that could be key in exploiting Austin’s back line.
Lassiter, son of former MLS great Roy Lassiter, came off the bench in the opener, replacing starter Leo Campana. He played 30 minutes and had two scoring chances. One went just wide and one was saved. He knows Austin FC from his days with the Houston Dynamo.
“We have to be smart, hold them in the first 15-20 minutes,” Lassiter said. “I played against them when I was with Dynamo, and I know there’s going to be a lot of spaces behind; we have to be smart and patient and wait for our opportunities.
“The goals will come. The important thing is being in the right place at the right time. Once that first one goes in, then it comes down like rain.”
From the moment Phil Neville took the job as Inter Miami coach before the 2021 season, he said he wanted Miami to be a tough team to beat. He was encouraged that his team kept a clean sheet against Chicago.
Backup goalkeeper Clement Diop, filling in for injured Nick Marsman, made three spectacular saves and was named Man of the Match.
All the starting defenders were making their team debuts: Yedlin, Bolivian center back Jairo Quinteros, Jamaican national team captain/center back Damion Lowe, center back Christopher McVey of Sweden and 17-year-old Pembroke Pines native Noah Allen at left back.
“We’ve got a different type of defender now in the football club, and they’re the type of defenders that I like,” Neville said. “They want to defend, and they get great pride in the clean sheet, and they get great pride in throwing themselves in front of the ball, they get great pride in working together as a team.”
Lowe, who was voted to the MLS Team of the Week for his opening-day performance, suffered a groin injury and is questionable for Sunday. Allen, who is being called up on a game-by-game basis from the club’s second tier MLS NEXT team, was signed to a second shortterm agreement and will be available Sunday. The team also brought up 25-year-old Cuban defender Modesto Mendez from the MLS NEXT squad.
Miami will be without injured players Marsman, Robbie Robinson, Joevin Jones, Victor Ulloa and Ryan Sailor. Kieran Gibbs, Edison Azcona and Bryce Duke are questionable.