Touchline Talk presented by Al-Flex
Inter Miami CF earned a hard-fought point at the end of its longest road trip of the season, finishing a visit to Stade Saputo with a draw off of goals from Gonzalo Higuaín and Emerson Rodríguez.
Heineken Man of the March Bryce Duke, who completed the game with a 90.3% passing rate and registered a key pass and created the chance that lead to the first goal, was proud of the team’s effort on such a grueling road trip.
“It's going to be hard for anyone traveling across the country and then back across the country, but we stuck it out and got four points, three in San Jose and one here. So that just tells you what kind of team we are, we don't give up no matter what the circumstance is.”
Duke expounded on the team’s tactical mentality on the night, which resulted in the first goal.
“Our game plan was that a center-back kind of follows me out a lot, so I tried to pull him out as far as I could and nutmeg with the ball, and I had Robert [Taylor] out wide so I figured that he would guess that I was going to pass it to him, so as soon as I took the touch inside I saw him kind of reach so I put it through his legs and went through. And then I saw [Alejandro] Pozuelo open and once you give the ball to Pozuelo, you kind of know what’s going to happen. It’s going to be an assist or goal, and we got the goal thankfully.”
Head coach Phil Nevile was also pleased with the effort of the young talents tonight, highlighting the club’s 2021 and 2022 MLS SuperDraft selections and the dynamic duo of Rodríguez and Duke.
“We had two first round draft picks at center back tonight against I think the best team in the league and I thought they were brilliant. The young kids, Bryce Duke, best player on the pitch, and Emerson Rodríguez got us back into the game. We love working with young players. We like developing young players”
Duke further explained his blossoming partnership with Rodríguez, saying, “I am super proud of him, super happy he got the goal today. Very deserved. You can tell the kid is electric, I call him ‘Rayito’, lightning, cause that guy is so fast…He’s one of my best friends on the team. I take him to training everyday so he teaches me Spanish, I teach him English. But I’m super proud of him and super happy he got the goal today.”
Inter Miami CF will host New York City FC in its next game at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday, August 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcasted on My33, UniMás and the Inter Miami App.
