Comeback complete. Inter Miami had us fooled in the first half of play, trailing Orlando City SC, but in the second half, Telasco Segovia shined with two assists and a goal while Lionel Messi did Messi things with a brace and an assist to lead the Herons to their first victory of the season in a 4-2 triumph over Orlando City SC on Sunday night. It may have taken a while for the Herons to take control, but after a slow start, they scored four unanswered goals to take all three points.
In the first half of play, frustration could be seen on the faces of Miami players, like Rodrigo De Paul, as Inter Miami went behind 2-0. Orlando City SC were able to go ahead via goals from their key men, Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda. Orlando have been one of Miami’s toughest opponents during Messi’s time in Major League Soccer, with Miami only winning one of the last five matches against their in-state rivals.
Noah Allen, needing to play left back while Sergio Reguilon is injured, has shifted how Miami’s able to attack and defend since their best setup last season saw him at center back. But a major shift by Miami’s manager, Javier Mascherano, bringing on Mateo Silvetti at half for Allen immediately, paid dividends. These in-game tweaks have shown his growth as a manager with last season being Mascherano’s first year in charge of a professional team, as his previous experience was with the Argentina youth squads.
The Herons went to a back three as Yannick Bright moved to center back and Silvetti ripped a shot from outside the box to start the comeback right after the half before Segovia laid it off for Messi to score from outside the box to bring the match level. Messi returned the favor, setting up Segovia, so he had to essentially pass the ball past Orlando keeper Maxime Crepeau before capping it off in the most Messi way possible, scoring a 90th-minute free kick in emphatic fashion.
There are concerns for the Herons as each time they turned the ball over, Orlando were able to get on the break and test Dayne St. Clair but when a team can put their foot down like this and express their attacking prowess, defensive yips can be ignored while the Herons are working on getting the most out of this version of the team.
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Miami and Orlando have turned into a true rivalry with Messi celebrating in front of the Orlando supporters after winning, and for the first time in their history, the Herons have now left Orlando with a victory. After going behind a switch flipped for the Herons. The next step in getting to where they want to be is ensuring that they don’t wait until going behind to be at their best but incremental improvement is important, and this is a step in the right direction.
