Yahoo Sports Short-handed Inter Miami wins again, late Cremaschi goal secures 2-1 win vs. Charlotte
Inter Miami silenced the doubters for the fourth game in a row and found a way to win again without stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
But it wasn’t easy.
Key Biscayne teenager Benjamin Cremaschi scored on a diving left-footed shot from the ground in the 86th minute to secure a 2-1 victory on the road Wednesday night against a fearless Charlotte FC team that made life difficult for the visitors. Julian Gressel got a wide ball from Sergio Busquets and set up Cremaschi with a perfect cross following a fast break.
With the win, Miami remained in first place in the Eastern Conference with 47 points and extended its unbeaten streak on the road to eight games heading into another critical away match Saturday against second-place FC Cincinnati, which has been on Miami’s tail all season and trails by just two points.
Inter Miami will have to face Cincinnati without Messi and Suarez, who are with their national teams in Copa America, and without left back Jordi Alba and midfielder Diego Gomez, both of whom will have to serve suspensions for accumulation of yellow cards. Gomez got a yellow card in the 53rd minute Wednesday night and Alba got his in the third minute of extra time for a foul on Ashley Westwood.
Miami coach Tata Martino said after the game that he felt Gomez’s card was warranted, but Alba’s was not.
As for his team’s performance Wednesday and four-game win streak without its leading scorers, Martino said: “The last few games our team has been consistent, serious, hard working, good when we had to drop back and defend, very fluid in the attack and accurate when we attacked. It was a tough and challenging game with a lot of outside pressure, so this is a very valuable victory.”
He was particularly happy to see the midfielders circulating the ball well, playing well in transition, closing gaps that they were leaving open early in the season, and being very precise with their passing. Martino said both goals were “very pretty” and the result of using the width of the field and finding attackers inside.
Miami’s first goal Wednesday night was scored by Robert Taylor in the 30th minute. The Finn received a perfectly delivered pass from Alba in the center of the box and right footed the shot to the bottom right corner, past the outstretched Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
The home team equalized 11 minutes later when speedy Patrick Agyemang sprinted past Miami’s back line, found himself one on one with Miami keeper Drake Callender, and found the back of the net. Agyemang had been giving Inter Miami fits from the opening whistle and had two previous shots saved by Callender.
Miami midfielder Fede Redondo, who this week was named a reserve for Argentina’s Olympic team, was held out of the game roster on Wednesday as a precaution after feeling leg tightness following the 2-1 win at Nashville. Redondo played 90 minutes that night in his first game back from a three-month injury layoff.
“Fede finished the Nashville game a little exhausted,” Martino said. “It made sense because it had been a long time since he completed a game. We initially planned to have him on the bench against Charlotte because it would have been risky to have him play three games in a week, but because he was so fatigued we decided not to have him on the bench because in a game like this we probably would have used him and that would have been a mistake.”
Martino said he hopes Redondo will return to practice on Thursday and be available on Saturday for the Cincinnati game. The coach was asked whether Redondo will travel with Argentina’s Olympic team as a reserve player, and he said he would travel only if one of the 18 players on the roster cannot play and they call him up to fill in.
The coach also said the team has been in contact with the Argentine kinesiologist about Messi’s groin injury, as Inter Miami uses the same kinesiologist. Messi sat out the Peru game but practiced the past few days and is expected to be available for Argentina’s quarterfinal against Ecuador in Houston on Thursday night.
