Inter Miami draw with Charlotte after leading by three goals

Inter Miami 3 – 3 Charlotte

MIAMI, FL–The Herons let a three-goal lead slip when their defensive woes continued as they drew with Charlotte in the last game of the regular season.

Miami made a poor start, and their defensive fragility was quickly exposed when the visitors had the ball in the net with little more than two minutes on the clock. Casemiro got into a tangle and Charlotte took full advantage, but the goal was ruled out for a handball and Miami were off the hook.

They rode their luck and soon got some more. A Miami corner cannoned off Luca De La Torre straight into the path of Ian Fray who was directly in front of goal, and he made the most of his chance to open the scoring.

Both sides continued to look for openings without creating anything significant. Miami continued their normal routine of enjoying plenty of the ball as they passed it around, but despite the setback, Charlotte still pushed the home side as they searched for an equaliser.

But it was the Herons who extended their lead when Luis Suarez made it two with a tap in. Lionel Messi fired in a near post corner and German Berterame’s flicked header fell perfectly for Suarez who had a simple task.

Dayne St. Clair made a great save from Idan Toklomati when the Charlotte front man looked like scoring and protected his team’s two-goal advantage.

And minutes later they increased that lead when Rodrigo De Paul struck a fine long range shot that was the pick of the bunch, as Miami underlined their domination of the opening half.

But if the first half was a tale of success, the second forty-five minutes was more of a horror story. Five minutes in and Charlotte had a goal back after a simple combination.

Miami’s defenders couldn’t deal with Charlotte’s movement and quick passing, and they were left flat-footed, leaving St. Clair exposed. A ball was played across the face of goal and Liel Abada had a simple task of passing the ball into the net as defenders watched on.

And they were at it again soon after. As Miami’s defenders were caught ball watching, Abada collected the ball surrounded by pink shirts but curled his shot inside the far post to get themselves back into the game out of nowhere.

Miami pressed hard as they looked to get more control of the game and try to dictate the outcome. But they were up against a stubborn defence that seemed to have learnt from their first-half mistakes.

And as is often the way, the team on the front foot were the ones to get punished when the defence failed to deal with a cross. Tyger Smalls hit the post and the rebound fell for Rodolfo Aloko who squeezed it just inside the post to level the game.

Moments later Messi almost won it with a trademark run and shot that hit the post to disappoint the captain. And although the draw will feel like a defeat, Messi can still enjoy winning the Golden Boot for the second season in a row.

It was a chaotic end to the game and Miami will be disappointed to finish the season this way. But they now have time to regroup and prepare themselves for the next stage as they look to get the upper hand on Columbus Crew in the best of three first-round play-offs at the Nu Stadium.

Photos by Edwin Gomez