Inter Miami are yet to celebrate their first home win since the season opener, although their second game at the New New Stadium ended in a draw with New York Red Bulls 2-2 on Saturday, April 11th. The Herons also held Austin FC to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, April 4th in Week 6 of MLS.
After the game, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano was slow to explain the situation, as his team has only won 3-3-1 and drawn 3-3-1 in seven MLS games.
Mascherano feels ‘bitter’
Jorge Rubalcaba broke the deadlock and New York RB took the lead 15 minutes into the game. It looked like they would go into half-time with this lead, but Mateo Silvetti equalized in the 45+2 minute from a cross from Rodrigo de Paul.
In the second half, both teams had goals disallowed for offside. However, Germund Bertelame scored a goal in the 55th minute. Lionel Messi drove towards the edge of the box and although Adli Mehmeti took the ball from him, the clearance fell at Bertelame’s feet. However, after about 20 minutes, the 17-year-old from the New York Red Bulls recovered and not only scored his first career goal in the 77th minute, but also ensured a draw.
The final result did not please Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano. He did not hide his frustration after his team’s second consecutive draw. “I believe that today’s team is worth much more than what we got. That’s the reality,” the former Argentine began by explaining (via ESPN).
Messi’s former Albiceleste teammates went on to admit that they had made some mistakes, but that they still deserved a better result, saying: “We made mistakes and we paid a very high price. This is normal in football, but the team did everything to win the match.”
Mascherano added: “It’s a very bitter feeling because even though the flow of the game was completely different from the other day, the result was the same and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters here.”
Despite the two draws, Inter Miami currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference with 12 points after seven games. This leaves them one point behind the Chicago Fire and four points behind leader Nashville (16th place).
Meanwhile, Leo Messi and his friends will have to wait two more games for a third chance to bring their first victory to the New Stadium.
Next Saturday, April 18th, they will face the Colorado Rapids in Game 8 of Major League Soccer at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. They will then travel to America First Field, home of Real Salt Lake, for an MLS match on Wednesday, April 22nd.
Finally, on Saturday, April 25th, we will host New England in Game 10 of the league. Will they be able to grab their first home win? Only time will tell.
