Inter Miami left "angry" after disastrous defensive performance vs. FC Cincinnati
A somber mood in the locker room combined with Phil Neville and Gonzalo Higuain's remarks depicted how frustrated the team was after the 4-4 draw
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — There are draws that feel like wins and there are draws that feel like losses.
Clearly, Saturday night’s was an example of the latter for Inter Miami.
The Herons suffered a painful setback in their push for a playoff spot, squandering three separate leads and needing a stoppage-time equalizer to salvage a point in a wild 4-4 stalemate with FC Cincinnati. The emotional rollercoaster at home at Drv Pnk Stadium made for a somber post-game mood, especially in the locker room where the absence of festive music and celebratory smiles was as evident as South Florida’s humidity on a hot summer day.
“I feel really angry, really angry about one aspect of our play and thrilled about another aspect of our play,” said visibly frustrated Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville with his opening post-game remarks. “I sit here every week and have spoke about finishing chances, taking chances, being ruthless. We got that, and some of our play was so good.
“Then, on the other hand, we defended like little boys, we defend naively, we lacked discipline and concentration. That is unacceptable. Unacceptable. Simple balls into the box, we did not deal with. Simple concentration bits, we did not deal with.”
Star striker Gonzalo Higuain, who scored a remarkable first-half hat-trick that included a powerful free kick to the top right corner, echoed some of his coach’s sentiments.
“Honestly, I am very angry,” said Higuain in Spanish. “I am very angry. It was a game we could have won and moved into seventh place.”
Inter Miami remains in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, though, due to the defensive letdown. The Herons were exposed on the counterattack numerous times, giving up too many spaces in behind, failing to win individual battles, and having the types of lapses in concentration that would make even a newborn blush in embarrassment.
No one on the back line was spared from the porous defending. Not DeAndre Yedlin, who was involved in three of the goals. Not Ryan Sailor, who endured a nightmare of a match. Not Christopher McVey. Not Damion Lowe.
“You do not win football games, against a team that I thought we dominated, defending like that,” said Neville.
“Defending-wise, it was unacceptable — unacceptable to lose, to draw to that Cincinnati team,” added Neville.
While those aforementioned players shouldered some responsibility for allowing the lead to slip away repeatedly, the Englishman’s tactics may have also played a part. For example, Neville made four substitutions in the second half, and they were all attack-minded ones as he pushed the team on for another goal that could sentence the game.
The approach marked a notable change for Neville, who has tended to be defensive when attempting to protecting a lead, but he might have overdone it. Inter Miami’s attack lost some of its punch after the personnel switches, contributing to FC Cincinnati finding more of the game against a Herons side that continues to lack an overall balance.
“Part of our strength at home has been our collective discipline, our collective defensive shape,” said Neville. “Maybe something has to give with the fact that we were throwing men forward.”
Inter Miami will have to quickly address and correct the defensive shortcomings, as a road swing that includes a Wednesday match against the San Jose Earthquakes and weekend tilt with CF Montreal is on the agenda. It probably will not be easy to rebound after delivering a shoddy defensive performance like the one seen Saturday, but that is the task Inter Miami is faced with.
“We have to use that anger, that frustration, that feeling that we have now to go on a road trip and win games of football,” said Neville.