Inter Miami hopes to finish strong as playoff push begins
Inter Miami has a chance to move into the playoff picture with a road win Saturday against the Montreal Impact. Rodolfo Pizarro is still out one more game.
Lewis Morgan and his Inter Miami teammates are fully aware of what most fans were thinking after Wednesday’s 1-1 tie against Atlanta United.
How could Inter Miami have outshot Atlanta 21-3 and not won that game?
“When you beat a team 21 to 3 on chances, usually you would say ‘Oh, that team must have won,’ ” Morgan said Friday, as the team prepared for Saturday’s road game against the Montreal Impact. “One thing I would say is huge credit to Atlanta for the way they were putting bodies in the line. It’s not that we were missing clear-cut chances. They defended well.”
The more pressing question, he said, is why they so easily gave up the equalizing goal three minutes after scoring.
“Of course, we would have liked to have added more than one goal with the 21 chances we had, but the other night one of the things we spoke about was when we do go up 1-nil, it’s important that we see that game out,” Morgan said. “It’s not a disaster to win games 1-nil. We need to look at the flip side. Why did we concede the goal we conceded rather than can we turn more of the chances into goals, because that will come with the players we’ve got. It’s about keeping it tight at the other end.”
Coach Diego Alonso agreed.
Alonso said after the game and again Friday that the team’s lapse in concentration after scoring a goal, and the ensuing errors in the midfield and on defense were more concerning than the goal conversion rate.
“We are generating plenty of chances,” Alonso said.
“Certainly, one thing we can take from the recent games is we are creating so many more chances,” said Morgan, who leads the team with five goals and six assists, including the perfect cross he delivered Brek Shea for the lone goal against Atlanta. “Obviously, Gonzalo [Higuain] coming has been a massive factor in that. He helps us a lot up there.”
That said, only six of Miami’s 21 shots were on frame, indicating that the attack is not producing enough clear chances.
Higuain, the Argentine forward known for clinical finishing, has scored just one goal in five games with Inter Miami, and it was on a free kick. This is the same player who scored more than 200 goals for Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus.
Since his arrival, Miami has scored six goals over five games, the same number the team scored in the five games before he got here.
The absence of playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro, who has missed three games while on Mexican national team duty, has been felt. He will miss Saturday’s game per MLS COVID-19 quarantine protocol but is expected to be back in the Miami lineup for the Oct. 24 home game against Orlando City. Defender Andres Reyes is also expected to be back from injury for that game.
With five games left in the regular season and a playoff spot within reach, Inter Miami faces a critical game against Montreal on Saturday. The match will be played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Impact’s home games are being held because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Montreal sits in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-10-2 record and 20 points. Atlanta and Chicago have 19 points apiece. Miami is in 12th place with 18 points and a 5-10-3 record. A victory on Saturday would leapfrog Miami into the playoff zone. The top 10 teams advance to the playoffs.
“When you’re playing against your direct rivals, it’s important to get a win and three points,” Morgan said. “We can get right there in the playoff picture. There are six or seven teams fighting to get in there, so we have to get as many points as we can.”
The Impact is coached by French legend Thierry Henry, and features Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama, Spanish forward Bojan, and Honduran forward Romell Quioto, who leads Montreal with six goals and four assists.
After Saturday, Inter Miami has a week to prepare for the Oct. 24 home game against Orlando. The club invited 360 supporters into the stadium for the first time for the Atlanta game. Morgan said their presence made a big difference. The club has not announced if any fans will be invited for the remaining games.
“To have the fans in the stadium was amazing,” Morgan said. “Their support has been unwavering. They’ve showed patience, waited so long to be able to attend games. Although they have not been able to be with us in the stadium, you hear them outside the stadium making noise for the full duration, even in the crazy weather we have here. We’re so grateful for their support and hopefully we are starting to repay that now with the good run of form we’re on.”