Miami stretch their unbeaten run as they return to action

Inter Miami 3 – 2 Chicago Fire

MIAMI, FL–Inter Miami made it five wins in a row on a night when their two biggest names were unavailable, and they made hard work of it against a Chicago side that refused to go away.

Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul were both rested after their exertions with Argentina at the World Cup, and there was a reasonable case for it.

Miami were on a winning run before the break, and a Wednesday night fixture at home against a mid-table Chicago was as good a night as any for Guillermo Hoyos to test the quality of his squad.

And for the opening twenty minutes it looked like a miscalculation. A scrappy opening was riddled with misplaced passes and a lack of any kind of penetration with an unusually quiet home crowd, making for a sombre feel to proceedings

But it wasn’t Chicago that exposed the Herons, they did that themselves when Rios Rocco Nova had a howler.

The Miami keeper failed to control a simple back pass from Ian Fray and had to watch agonisingly as the ball trickled under his foot and into the net, for possibly the cheapest goal of the season.

Robert Lowendowski was making his Chicago Fire debut after his move from Barcelona, but he struggled to make an impression as Miami dominated the much of the possession and made it difficult for the striker.

And it was another veteran showing the way as Luis Suarez played in David Ruiz with a sublime touch, only for the young attacker to be scythed down by Jack Elliot and win his side a penalty.

And it was that man Suarez who took the responsibility from the spot and made no mistake to restore parity to the game.

The captain for the night got his second early in the second half when he played a delightful one-two with Berti who provided a fabulous assist with a neat backheel right onto the striker’s foot to give his side the lead.

At that point the game had the shape of a comfortable evening for the home side. They were seeing more of the ball and Chicago appeared to have settled for their fate as they struggled for ideas.

Puso Dithejane came off the bench around the hour mark and needed only a few minutes to show his quality, sweeping a first time finish past Ríos Novo from just inside the area for his first goal in the league.

After looking comfortable, Miami were suddenly chasing the game again and Chicago made it difficult for them. Slowing down proceedings and breaking up play, putting Miami out of their usual stride and making the home crowd restless.

And then came Preston Plambeck. On as a substitute with five minutes left, the youngster found himself in the right place at the right time and scored his first goal in MLS to win it. Brady could only parry ?? strike and the youngster did well to control the high ball.

But it was a familiar story for Miami, the attack keeps bailing out a defense that keeps needing rescuing. Montréal away is next up for the Herons who will have to sharpen up at the back to avoid similar problems.

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