On this Magic City Soccer Podcast, Matthew, Lee and Franco discuss The Miami FC and its victory over Charlotte Independence, as well as Inter Miami CF and its struggles on and off the field. Join us, won’t you?
Miami FC kicked off a two game home stand with a 2-1 victory over Charlotte Independence at Riccardo Silva Stadium Saturday evening.
The one goal margin might suggest a close game but in truth the Orange and Blue turned in a complete performance. Charlotte scored from a direct free kick right on the edge of the area just before the hour mark to tie things up. It made for an exciting finish but it was their only effort on target. The rest of the match was about the home team.
There was plenty of reasons for soccer fans in and around the South Florida soccer world to be happy about this week.
The Miami FC got things off to a great start with a win away at New York Red Bulls II on Friday night. The game’s only goal came when Billy Forbes clipped a lovely ball through for János Löbe. The full back centered for Ballard who had his shot blocked but Jamaican international Speedy Williams rifled home a smart finish from the edge of the box.
It was a disappointing evening for Miami FC at Riccardo Silva Stadium in their second gameweek of USL Championship action. A disjointed performance against Hartford Athletic saw the Orange and Blue beaten 1-0.
It’s hard to imagine the first 14 minutes of Miami FC’s season opener against visiting Loudoun United going any better.
Six minutes into the match, Ariel Martinez delivered a beautiful cross to newcomer Gigi Craig, who expertly headed the ball into the back of the net. A minute later, a defensive mishap from Loudoun United (and some pressure from forward Pierre da Silva) led to an own goal. And just like that, the Orange and Blue had a 2-0 lead.
The Miami FC got their 2021 campaign off to a winning start Sunday evening at Riccardo Silva Stadium, grinding out a 2-1 win after playing much of the game with ten men.
After a disappointing 2020 season, no one can blame The Miami FC for wanting to put last year behind them as quickly as possible.
Miami has a chance to do that Sunday night when they kick off their 2021 campaign against Loudoun United. It will be the first meeting between the two teams. They will get to see each other three more times later this season as Atlantic Division rivals.
The Miami FC have kept their ship afloat in the 2020 USL Championship season. Despite early struggles, the change at the helm has slowly paid off. Miami is coming off a loss in their last match against Charleston a week ago today. Luckily for Miami, their last visit to Tampa resulted in points and the Rowdies are also coming off a loss against the Battery. A Miami victory tonight would be an incredible boost for the club.
Miami FC round off a busy August with a trip to Blackbaud Stadium in South Carolina to face Charleston Battery. The Battery are on a high, unbeaten in four games and coming off a 3-0 pounding of a sorry North Carolina FC team in their last game. In fact they have scored a total of 6 goals in their last two games.
Sunday night was a momentous occasion for The Miami FC, just without the fanfare. Miami had been showing all of the right signs of life necessary to compete in the USL. It always a matter of when and not if, Miami would begin racking up points. That “when” came off the right foot of Tomas Granitto. After Sunday night’s performance, Miami has earned points in three straight games against teams in the top half of their respective group.