Inter Miami CF clinched a berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with a thrilling win over FC Cincinnati on Decision Day presented by AT&T. A pair of goals from Inter Miami defenders helped seal the crucial victory for the team as Mikey Ambrose and Leandro González Pirez each scored in the first half.
“We’ve been working hard all year, grinding every day,” said Ambrose. “It was a rough year for everybody and to get into the playoffs, it just feels so good for everybody. The whole team has been working and fighting and dealing with a lot of stuff, so it feels very good for all of us to make it in.”
“We were able to get the result and that was the most important thing,” added LGP. “We did well, but we can do better. We can fix the mistakes we made in this game and prepare for the playoff game. We [achieved] our objective, we are into the playoffs in our first season. We are so happy.”
After earning the victory the players took a moment to check the other results across the league. Upon seeing the final scores elsewhere, they realized they had qualified for the playoffs, triggering massive celebrations.
“When the match ended I automatically went to ask because I didn’t know whether or not to celebrate. More than just winning the match we wanted to qualify for the playoffs. Winning and not qualifying would have made the result feel like a little bit of a waste today. Luckily, we were able to earn it and we’re in the playoffs,” said LGP. “When we found out we were in we exploded and started to jump around and celebrate.
“Everyone on the team is a little bit relieved because we knew we had a team good enough to qualify and we weren’t getting it just because of a few details. Now that the regular season is over and we made it, we’re super relieved and super happy.”
“It was a feeling of joy and of relief. There has been so much pressure all year and we take that on. We know this is a huge Club and we embrace that pressure,” said Ambrose. “I’m just happy for the boys. It’s been hard and we deserved to get in so I’m happy we made it.”
The match wasn’t without its challenges, however, as turbulent weather made for a difficult afternoon.
“I’ve played in some horrible weather before, but this was probably the worst one,” said Ambrose. “It was tough for everybody and we just battled through it and got the W.”
“It’s so difficult to play through. We knew that in the first half there was more wind in our favor, and we knew it was the half we had to do everything,” added LGP. “We hoped we could do it and we scored two goals in the first half. We tried to manage the game in the second half with the wind against us. It was so difficult. If it’s raining it’s no problem, but the problem for us was the wind and today it was crazy.”
The pair also reflected on their signature moments of the afternoon, the goals that made Inter Miami just the seventh MLS franchise to qualify for the playoffs in its first season.
“I’m super happy. Every time one scores a goal it’s a huge joy because it’s the maximum happiness in fútbol, to score a goal and win a match. I’m super happy because above all else it served to get us the result, win the match, and make the playoffs in our first year in which we’ve had a lot of bad luck. It made me really happy,” said LGP.
“It felt good to score my first goal for the Club. I’ve been working hard all year and my teammates have been supporting me all year so I’m glad I got to get a goal,” stated Ambrose.
Now, their focus is aimed squarely on the next step: competing in the playoffs.
“We’re excited, we’ve been saying since we won the game that this is a new season now. Everything that happened in the past, all that stuff we went through, it doesn’t matter now,” concluded Ambrose. “It’s a new season so we’re looking forward to the next game. Now it’s playoffs so it’s one game at a time, every game is a championship. It’s going to be fun.”
“I know it’s a different tournament now...We have a lot of players in this squad who have played a lot of games in this situation,” added LGP. “I think the most difficult part for us was qualifying and now we have more confidence to play these kinds of games. We have a lot of players with experience in these kinds of situations so I hope we can get a result.”
