Touchline Talk
Inter Miami earned a point in its hard-fought match against Philadelphia on Wednesday night at Subaru Park. After recording the first clean sheet in his MLS career, goalkeeper Drake Callender was named Heineken’s Man of the Match.
After the match, the goalkeeper shared his feelings on the match and expressed pride in the squad's performance.
“It was a hard-fought game. The draw of 0-0 was short of what we are trying to achieve here in Philly. We are showing that we can compete with the top team in our conference. I really think we have a group that is going to go the distance. Tonight, although we drew 0-0, I think this is a good sign to show we are heading in the right direction,” expressed Callender.
After his impressive saves throughout the game, Callender noted his dedication at practice and his hopes to continue this performance moving forward.
“[It’s about] showing up every single day. I know at this level there are going to be moments to show your skill and show the ability to make saves, get [involved in] the build up. Really just build momentum and stick to the grind… I have treated every training session like it’s my last. Really trying to help my team any way that I can,” said Callender. “If that means having a performance like this, I’m willing to go a full 90 minutes plus extra time to get a result that will help the team and help us with the rest of the season.
Head coach Phil Neville also spoke about Callender’s top performance, underlining the potential of the goalkeeper’s skills and what fans can expect to see from him in the future.
“He makes saves look easy. I think in the first half when he spread himself and he didn’t go down early was fantastic. I’m really pleased, Mark Mason has done great work with him, you just have to be patient…He fully deserves man of the match, he fully deserves the keeper’s position for the game on Sunday and we are seeing the development of another young player in our fútbol club that is going to be a really top goal keeper,” commented Neville.
Inter Miami will continue to prepare for its match against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, May 22 at 6 pm ET.
