Tourney time is over
After third loss and 0-5 start, team uncertain of what’s next
New York City FC’s Maximiliano Moralez, left, and Anton Tinnerholm, right,
It’ll be a long 200-plus-mile journey from Orlando back to Fort Lauderdale.
Inter Miami CF quietly bowed out of the MLS is Back Tournament on Monday, losing to New York City FC 1-0. It was the fifth straight loss for Inter Miami in its expansion season, all of which came by one goal.
And it might be
awhile before it’ll be able to right that ship, since the league has no schedule right now for after the teams leave the “bubble” near Orlando and return to their home sites amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The team’s in a tough spot right now,” goalkeeper Luis Robles said after the game. “Everyone is disappointed with the way that the tournament went, the way that the game went. And I think it’s inevitable to feel this way if you’re 0-5.”
It’s the first time an MLS expansion team has lost its first five games.
Both teams, winless in the tournament going in, needed a victory to maintain hopes of qualifying for the single-elimination stage of the tournament. In fact, each team came in 0-4 on the season — the first such matchup in Major League Soccer history.
And it showed.
Perhaps slowed by the 9 a.m. start time, neither side generated much in the way of chances in the first half.
NYCFC controlled possession all game. And finally in the 64th minute, the reigning Eastern Conference champions broke the deadlock. Forward Alexandru Mitrita
floated a pass over the top of the Inter Miami defense, which was received calmly by forward Ismael TajouriShradi, who took one dribble before slotting a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
From there, it became an uphill battle to overcome the deficit. Particularly without prized rookie forward Robbie Robinson, who opted out of the tournament, Inter Miami lacked enough offensive firepower to mount any serious comeback effort.
The goal marked the only serious chance on either side, with eight shots and just four on target between the teams. But it was enough to send Inter Miami packing after its third loss in the event.
“We are going to continue fighting hard,” Inter Miami coach Diego Alonso said. “I don’t regret being the head coach of this team. I am with them more than ever. We’re going to get through this together. We know that football is going to give us what we deserve.”
When play clear.
Sixteen MLS teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff, with the final scheduled for Aug. 11, but the league has yet to announce a schedule for the continuation of the regular season. Some of that could be contingent upon the state of the country and the spread of coronavirus.
Alonso made it clear he expects the season to resume, and he aims to be ready.
“Now we have four weeks of work and expect to then start the regular season,” he said. “We will adjust with the players who are here and any player who may arrive.”
For local fans, though, the wait for games could feel way too long.
After nearly seven years of work and buildup to get might again?
Inter Miami That’s not to the inaugural season, coowner David Beckham’s team has endured a very rocky start, considering factors both in and outside of their control. That long wait for a first win — any sign of progress — will now drag on indefinitely. Frustration could mount.
In the 90th minute on Monday, with the game ticking toward its inevitable conclusion, forward Juan Agudelo was sent off for a second yellow card after he charged into a defender during a free kick.
He marched off to the far sideline, slowly and despondently. He could only look on from afar as time slowly ticked away.
“We know that we’re in a difficult place right now,” Robles said. “The only thing we can do is stick together and commit to the process, continue to believe in one another, work hard, demand more from each other, focus on the process and don’t get too fixated on the results.
“If we can do this, then we’ll turn this around.”