Touchline Talk
Goals from Ariel Lassiter and Robert Taylor secured a 2-0 victory for Inter Miami Sunday night at DRV PNK Stadium. The win extended the club’s unbeaten streak in all competitions to four, extended its unbeaten run playing at home to five, and gave the New York Red Bulls their first loss away from home in the 2022 campaign.
Lassiter, who scored his first MLS goal for Inter Miami, spoke about the team’s positive mentality after the hard-fought win.
“We're starting to play good fútbol, we're starting to know when and where we can attack,” Lassiter said. “We get good possession of the ball when we can and we're getting clear opportunities to score. So, once one goes in, we have the players to make it two-three-four. It's just a matter of defending well, staying organized, making sure that we give ourselves an opportunity to win each game.”
Like Lassiter, head coach Phil Neville was also happy with the team’s mentality not just during the match, but in the days leading up as well.
“I’m really pleased. I was really confident right before the game. The day after the game against Philadelphia, even the performance after Philadelphia, it gave us great belief. The day after the game we gave them the day off and they came in, they all wanted to train, they all wanted to play.”
That desire carried over to Sunday’s win, confirming Neville’s belief that the squad can continue its strong play moving forward.
“There’s a great spirit and togetherness,” Neville said. “There’s a great belief that we are headed in the right direction. We are now beginning to make DRV PNK Stadium a tough place to go.”
A major part of Inter Miami’s four-match home unbeaten streak across all competitions has been its depth. After the win, Neville spoke about his options off the bench and his confidence in players to come off the bench and make a positive impact.
“I turned to my coaches with five minutes to go like, ‘can we put Mo [Adams] and Emerson [Rodríguez] on?’ and I had already forgotten we had used five subs,” Neville said. “It showed that we had depth, think about Robbie [Robinson] coming on, Robert Taylor coming on, Gonzalo [Higuaín] and then having Emerson they are game changers. They are players that can come on and actually change a game for us and score us a goal.”
In addition to the strong performances from Lassiter and Taylor, goalkeeper Drake Callender, who was named Heineken Man of the Match for second consecutive fixture, delivered another outstanding performance and earned his second straight clean sheet.
Inter Miami will resume training Monday as they prepare for Wednesday’s Round of 16 U.S Open Cup match against Orlando City SC. Kickoff is set for Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. ET at Exploria Stadium.
