Analyzing Inter Miami: Robinson's horrific blunder, defeated demeanor, and more
Three takeaways from the 4-0 rout Inter Miami suffered at the hands of the Columbus Crew
The old adage is that goals change games, but Robbie Robinson just raised more questions about his ability to score them after having one of the worst blunders of the MLS season.
Inter Miami’s free fall continued with a sixth straight defeat this past Saturday after getting routed, 4-0, by the Columbus Crew, and the biggest play in the road game as far as the South Florida side was concerned was Robinson’s horrific gaffe in the 29th minute.
The match was scoreless at that moment, and Robinson found himself with a golden opportunity to give Inter Miami the lead after pouncing on a mistake at the back and racing in on goal for a clear 1-on-1 look vs. Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room. Rather than put it away, however, Robinson put it into every Inter Miami fan’s nightmares.
He shockingly failed to get a shot off, twisting himself into a pretzel before stumbling to the ground and losing possession. The chance wasted, the Crew reinvigorated, the Herons deflated.
“I just felt the minute that Robbie did not score that 1-v-1, the team lost all belief,” said Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville. “It really affected the team mentally.”
How could it not? Inter Miami is in bad shape right now, both from a soccer standpoint and a mental one, and the team needs all the help it can get to inject some confidence back into the group. A goal in that moment could have given the Herons something to build on — not to mention force the Crew to open up more and thus leave more spaces in behind — but Robinson badly failed to take advantage. So much so that you could not even label the play as a miss given that he did not actually take a shot.
Usually complimentary, Inter Miami TV analyst Ray Hudson may have said it best on the CBS4 broadcast: “That is just nowhere close to being good enough for any sort of professional footballer.” That might come off as harsh, but it is the honest truth. Shooting wide of the mark on that play or even seeing the ball saved by the goalkeeper while not great would have been more acceptable, but Robinson did neither.
Serious questions need to be asked as to his effectiveness as a No. 9 and how much the blowback to his controversial Chile national team departure has impacted his psyche, but Neville’s insistence on playing Robinson in a position that the limited attacker is ill-suited to play also deserves to be put under the microscope. Since being deployed up top again after spending the season out on the wing, Robinson’s shooting stats are as follows:
vs. Atlanta United: 83 minutes, 1 shot, 0 shots on target, 0 goals
vs. Portland Timbers: 76 minutes, 1 shot, 0 shots on target, 0 goals
vs. New York Red Bulls: 77 minutes, 1 shot, 0 shots on target, 0 goals
vs. Columbus Crew: 68 minutes, 0 shots, shots on target, 0 goals
Those numbers would undoubtedly be better if Robinson were on a better team. Inter Miami has had significant attacking issues throughout the season, and the 22-year-old attacker is far from the only player to struggle in the final third. Neville continues to trot Robinson out there despite the poor returns, though, thus exposing the youngster to rough performances and criticism.
Still, that blunder on its own is unacceptable. Robinson is sure to have much brighter days ahead in his fledgling career, but he simply has to do better than he did there.
Defeated demeanor was on display in second half
No response. No resilience. No rebelliousness. No fight.
Inter Miami as a whole collectively crumbled on Saturday after conceding the opener in the 39th minute, looking every bit a dejected team that knows the outcome of its season is all but decided. Save for a few exceptions like Gregore and Lewis Morgan, the defeated demeanor was on clear display in the second half when the team was in that 2-0 hole. The Herons never mustered the type of effort that they had for much of the opening stanza, leading to another pair of goals and the latest lopsided loss in this dismal season.
“We come in at halftime in a situation where I could not actually believe it because of the control in the game that I was witnessing,” said Neville.
Before those pairs of late first-half goals from the Crew, Inter Miami had put forth a respectable tactical outing. The South Florida side was not dominating proceedings, but was making things difficult for the Crew by moving the wingbacks into higher positions and pressing further up the field.
Ultimately, though, the continued lack of attacking punch combined with more defensive mistakes sunk the team’s confidence even further.
“I think you see the true test of people’s characters, people’s personalities, people’s qualities when you are really, really backs to the walls,” said Neville. “We are backs to the wall.”
Late formation change could be a sign of things to come
Neville has stuck with a five-man defense during this six-game losing streak despite not always having the personnel available to play it, and the results have clearly been less than flattering. Inter Miami has been defeated by a combined score of 16-1 during this skid, and there has not been much from the run of play in that formation with the current group of healthy players to suggest things will change.
That could be why Neville opts to switch to a 4-2-3-1 system in the upcoming games, a look he moved the team into late vs. the Crew. Inter Miami was down 3-0 in the 83rd minute when Neville started making the tactical alteration and an own goal instantly followed, but the idea seemed to be to try and reduce some defensive solidity in order to get more of an attacking edge.
Approaching the final five matches of the season in that more proactive style should be how Neville goes about things the rest of the way. Not only because the team is sorely in need of goals, but because it will better suit players’ strengths. It is no coincidence that Morgan looked reenergized during the final minutes of this past weekend’s affair when he was moved up into the wing and relieved of having so many defensive responsibilities.
Inter Miami is mathematically still alive in the playoff race with five matches left to play in the year, but the team needs goals. Not only to have a shot at pulling off Mission Impossible, but to also give fans something to be excited about after a dreary run of mostly goal-less games.
“To score goals you need to create as many chances as possible and I am convinced that to generate chances the team has to play with the ball more,” said attacking midfielder Federico Higuain in Spanish. “It is easier to defend direct play than build-up play in which you try to move the ball from one side to the other to disorganize the opponents and find the right time to inflict damage.”