Seeking 1st home win vs. surging Orlando City
History has boded well for Inter Miami CF when they are in the position they’ll face on Friday: hosting in-state rival Orlando City SC at DRV PNK Stadium, even during a period of distress.
Inter Miami’s first win in club history came against Orlando City last August in Fort Lauderdale after opening their inaugural season with five consecutive losses.
They jumped over the playoff line for the first time last year with a home victory over Orlando, despite missing star forward Gonzalo Higuaín in their first match open to the general public.
“It’s the one game I looked at when I got the job — when the Orlando game is going to be. The atmosphere is going to be incredible,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said ahead of the team’s second match in which DRV PNK Stadium will be operating at full capacity.
“Our fans have been sort of like our 12th player this season already — probably our best player so far in terms of their encouragement. We’re going to need them on Friday night.”
Like previous home games versus Orlando City, Inter Miami (2-5-2, eight points) will enter Friday slumping on the field and without multiple key players.
Gregore and Ryan Shawcross will both be suspended from the matchup due to receiving red cards in Inter Miami’s 1-0 loss to D.C. United on Saturday.
Robbie Robinson and Sami Guediri, both of whom are dealing with leg injuries, won’t be available for Friday and likely won’t be ready to play again “for a few weeks,” according to Neville.
Higuaín (conditioning) and midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro (hip injury) are questionable for Friday.
Higuaín didn’t travel with Inter Miami for their 1-0 loss to D.C. United on Saturday and stayed back in South Florida to work on his conditioning, with Neville saying the team wants Higuaín to
“Our fans have been sort of like our 12th player this season already — probably our best player so far in terms of their encouragement. We’re going to need them on Friday night.”
— Inter Miami coach Phil Neville
be 100 percent fit before returning to play.
Pizarro has been dealing with a hip injury that’s forced him to miss Inter Miami’s past three games, with his last appearance coming in the team’s 3-2 win over FC Cincinnati on May 16.
Both Higuaín and Pizarro practiced with the team earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Orlando City (5-13, 18 points — tied for second-best in the East Conference) have been surging recently, beating Toronto FC 3-2 and the San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 since MLS’s return to play from the international break.
Star forward Daryl Dike made his return to Orlando’s starting lineup during Tuesday’s win over the Earthquakes after being loaned to Barnsley in the English Championship league during the spring, scoring two goals in 71 minutes against San Jose.
Orlando is led by winger Nani (five goals, two assists), forward Tesho Akindele (three goals, four assists), forward Benji Michel (two goals, one assist) and winger Chris Mueller (four assists).
“What you can see in our games against Orlando last year — they obviously had a great year — when we played them we were quite even in the matchup,” said winger Lewis Morgan, with Inter Miami splitting last year’s series against Orlando City, 2-2. “We don’t have anything to fear against them. Those games had goals in them. Hopefully that’s something we can make sure we’re bringing to the table.”
Inter Miami have struggled scoring recently, being shut out in three consecutive matches heading into Friday and going scoreless in four of their last five games.
“When you have three games where you don’t score, you lose a little confidence,” midfielder Blaise Matuidi said. “We have quality for that. We need to be confident also.”
Inter Miami are still looking for their first win at home in 2021, with a 0-3-1 record at DRV PNK Stadium this season.
Fans showered the team in boos during its last home game, a 3-0 loss to D.C. United — the team’s first game in which its stadium operated at full capacity.
“Last game I felt the same way as they did and the players felt the same as the supporters did,” Neville said. “We need them, and we need everybody to be one. We want to make it a night for them to remember — that means we have to put a performance on.”