Miami FC bounced back and looked like the team that all their supporters know and love yesterday in Indianapolis. After dropping points in their previous two games against the San Francisco Deltas, which brought the overall first seed in to question, the turnaround was massive for the club. Indy looked outmatched from the start and saw their season officially end after the final whistle.
Miami needed to provide an answer to its critics coming into Saturday’s game against Indy Eleven. Boy, did they ever make a response. After a miserable start to the fall campaign, that includes the end of the cup run, Miami returned with a similar flair that we had gotten used to in the spring.
Miami enters this game against Indy Eleven venturing into uncharted territory. Only once in club history have they dropped four matches in a row. To call the third game of the fall season a must win is hyperbole at best, however, that may be the sentiment inside the locker room tonight for the Blues.
What a difference a year makes. Back in 2016 with the spring season of the NASL drawing to a close, The Miami FC were struggling. Porous at the back and misfiring up front, the promise the franchise showed off the pitch had not been fulfilled. They finished 11th of 11 and deserved no more than that.
Fast-forward 12 months and Alessandro Nesta’s men are playing scintillating soccer, marauding their way to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and trouncing teams by four goals… seven goals even, while also keeping clean sheets. So what has changed? In truth, it’s not been a revolution but an evolution.
In a topsy-turvy match, The Miami FC overcame an early deficit then and withstood 35 minutes of playing down a man after a red card was issued to Kwadwo Poku to beat the New York Cosmos 2-1 and come even closer to the NASL spring championship.