Miami have to settle for a stalemate against Charlotte FC

Charlotte FC 0 – 0 Inter Miami

CHARLOTTE, NC–Inter Miami were left frustrated as they were held to a goalless draw against Charlotte FC at the Bank of America stadium on Saturday evening.

A much changed starting eleven for Miami with no Lional Messi or Rodrigo De Paul saw a number of reserve players given the chance to shine as coach Javier Mascherano rested players for next week’s second leg against Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Sergio Regulon joined the other debutants as he made his first appearance at full back, and he went close with a couple of long-range efforts as the Herons used their set pieces to try and find the net.

Rocco Rios Novo made his first appearance in goal this season, and he showed why he was the first-choice option last year.

It was a slow start to the game with both teams giving away possession. Luis Suarez had half a chance early on but pulled his shot wide, and moments later Ashley Westwood tested Rios Novo with a great first time shot on the break.

Liel Abada should have done better when he was sent through on goal, but he hit his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Pinter making his debut up front alongside Suarez was linking up well with his teammates and was a constant outlet for Miami as they looked to open up space in the channels.

Abada was a constant nuisance for the Miami back line and Regulon was having a tough time trying to contain the attacker.

Miami were then denied by Kristijan Kahlina who made a fantastic double save after Ian Frays header looked goal bound. He stretched out a hand to keep it out and then managed to palm away the loose ball.

It was a heated encounter and Suarez claimed he was hit in the face by Morrison, causing a delay as the referee resolved the situation. And seconds later Wilfred Zaha swung an arm into the face of Pinter and was lucky not to receive a second yellow card after having collected one moments earlier for arguing.

Charlotte were pushing to create chances, but they were disappointing in the final third and weren’t putting Rios Novo’s under enough pressure.

Zaha did find himself in front of goal, but Rios Novo stood up strong and blocked the shot when a goal looked likely.

Both sides made a number of changes after the hour mark and the game fell into a bit of a slump after, as players took time to get into the game and adjust to the pace.

Possession statistics throughout the game were quite even but Charlotte will look back with some degree of disappointment. Playing at home to an under-strength Miami was a good opportunity to earn all three points, but they never looked like deserving it.

From a defensive perspective, this was a good performance from Miami as they quelled the Charlotte front line with some ease, but offensively they were weak and lacked the quality needed in attack.

Clearly with so many changes, a different type of Inter Miami was expected, but the youngsters did well and that bodes well for the future of the club.

Coach Mascherano shouldn’t be too unhappy with the result, despite his late red card for disputing the referee’s decision but will surely be pleased with how the young players stepped up and performed.