Inter Miami play out entertaining draw with Nashville

Inter Miami 2 – 2 Nashville

MIAMI, FL–Inter Miami played out entertaining draw with Nashville, but Herons missed another chance to close the gap at the top of the table as they were left frustrated when they conceded another late goal and were forced to share the points.

It was a fast start to the game, and the visitors got their noses ahead early on when Sam Surridge’s shot beat Dayne St. Clair. The response was as expected from Miami as they dominated possession and looked to get Lionel Messi on the ball to create something.

The captain stung the hands of Nashville keeper Brian Schwake with a rasping long-range effort, and from the resulting corner, they found the equaliser. Messi fired in the set piece, and it found the head of Reed Baker-Whiting whose touch left Schwake with no chance as it flew into the net. It was a well-deserved goal as the home side responded well to going behind and forced Nashville onto the back foot.

Miami often enjoy the majority of the ball in many of their games, but they don’t show that killer instinct of recent seasons, failing to kill off games when they’re ahead and in the ascendancy.

After scoring the goal they showed real intent to find a second, but they still looked too open at the back as their defensive frailties showed again. Hany Mukhtar was a constant threat as he floated around the danger areas picking up the loose ball.

The second half saw a similar story unfold as Miami took the game to their opponents but found it hard to break Nashville down, while not leaving themselves exposed at the back. Messi created the first goal, and he scored the second to take his Miami tally to ninety-nine and put him ahead in the chase to be the top scorer for the season.

The Miami captain played some fabulous one touch football around the edge of the area with Rodrigo De Paul to create the space and then his shot found the net to give his side a well-earned lead. German Berterame could have made it three when Messi found the striker in front of goal, but he took a touch when a first-time effort was begging and the chance was lost.

And despite having a number of chances in the second half, they were unable to make the game safe and left themselves vulnerable for the sucker punch. And Nashville provided it in dramatic style when Surridge picked up the loose ball in added time to level the game and break the home supporters’ hearts.

De Paul almost snatched it late on when his shot hit the post, but they had to settle for the draw.

Nashville have held the top spot for much of the season but have struggled in recent weeks, having now only picked up two points from their last three games. Miami managed four points during the same period, but had they won those games, they would now be level on points with Nashville.

It’s definitely been a series of missed opportunities for Miami, and you could sense the frustrations amongst the supporters who were left scratching their heads again. As it stands there is a gap of nine points at the top with nine games to go. If Miami want to seriously challenge for that top spot they’ll have to start turning leads into wins, and soon.

Photos by Edwin Gomez

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