A strong argument can be made that Miami’s upset victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday was the club’s biggest win since joining the USL Championship.
If Miami (5-5-2, 17 pts) ends up making the playoffs, this might be the match the club looks back on as a turning point. Defender Callum Chapman-Page’s header in the 78th minute will be a moment fans remember for a long time, giving Miami its first win over the Rowdies since 2017 in the U.S. Open Cup.
A busy week for Miami FC kicks off Wednesday with an important home match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Coming off a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw on the road against the New York Red Bulls II, Miami will look to try to steal three points against the first-place Rowdies. That’s a tall order against the defending Eastern Conference champions. The Rowdies enter Wednesday night’s match with more points (24) than any other club in the USL Championship.
It had to feel good in the Miami FC locker room last Saturday after the club defeated Charlotte. It was the their first win in almost a month, snapping a two-game losing skid in the process. Plus, it gave the club some much-needed momentum heading into a big month for the Orange and Blue.
In just a few weeks, Miami FC will welcome fans back in the stands for the first time this season at Riccardo Silva Stadium. Everyone has July 17’s match against Tampa Bay circled on their calendars. But the team has three matches before then, starting with Friday’s showdown with the New York Red Bulls II. Can Miami put together a win streak and build some excitement heading into July 17?
The New York Red Bulls II (2-6-2, 8 pts) are coming into Friday’s match on a cold spell. They’ve lost four of their past five matches, including a 7-0 shellacking at the hands of Hartford Athletic on June 5.
In their lone meeting so far this season, Miami edged out the “Baby Bulls” in a 1-0 victory on May 14 at MSU Soccer Park. Speedy Williams scored the lone goal for Miami in the 15th minute of the match and goalkeeper Connor Sparrow kept New York off the score sheet.
Miami’s defense will need to keep an eye on forward Jeremy Rafanello. The 21-year-old scored twice and tallied an assist in New York’s 3-1 win over Charlotte on June 16. Defender Mandela Egbo is also a scoring threat–he leads Red Bulls II with three goals this season.
We know we sound like a broken record at this point, but Miami FC’s offense desperately needs a spark. The club is averaging 1.2 goals per game this season and hasn’t scored more than two goals in a match all season.
Playing against NYRBII might be the remedy to that problem. New York has conceded the second most goals (22) in the USL Championship so far this season. Even if you take away the seven goals scored by Hartford, they’re still in the Top 10 in that category.
Amazingly, Miami FC doesn’t have a single multi-goal scorer through 10 games this season (10 players have tallied a goal apiece). This could be a golden opportunity for any one of Miami’s attackers to break through with a big game. Will it be a forward like Billy Forbes or Ariel Martinez? Or maybe the scoring will come from the midfield from someone like Speedy Williams?
And with a home match against Tampa on Wednesday, July 7, Miami needs to be careful not to look past this contest.
This is a must-win match for Miami FC. The Atlantic Division’s playoff race is crowded, and Miami has already fallen behind some clubs with a handful of games in hand. In order to keep pace with the rest of the competition, Miami needs to earn three points against the teams below them in the standings. That includes NYRBII.
We keep waiting for Miami’s offense to shine through, and I think this could be the week it finally happens. After a big win against Charlotte and getting to face a New York team that tends to give up lots of goals, I’m willing to bet that this will
Miami FC 3 – NYRBII 1
Game Notes
WHO: Miami FC (4-5-1, 13 pts) vs. New York Red Bulls II (2-6-2, 8 pts)
WHEN: Friday, July 2 // 7:00 pm EST
WHERE: MSU Park (Montclair, NJ)
WATCH: ESPN+
DISCIPLINE:
Despite a respectable showing, The Miami FC left Tampa Bay last weekend empty handed. Now the club returns home for a date with the Charlotte Independence, hoping to bounce back within the friendly confines of Riccardo Silva Stadium.
But Charlotte is coming into South Florida with some momentum. And if Miami FC wants to avoid another disappointing result they will need to find a way to finish and find the back of the net.
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.
Inter Miami CF, coming off a 1-0 loss to fellow expansion side Nashville SC, will look to win on the road for the first time tonight, at Atlanta United.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A professional team loses its place among the professional ranks and the team has to find its way back to glory by ascending the ranks again beginning in an amateur league. Have you? No? I haven’t either, and it’s not a script that Hollywood would think to write off the cuff. It almost seems entirely opposite to the classic sports tale. But that’s where we find ourselves for this 2018 Miami FC 2 season.
