Touchline Talk presented by Al-Flex
Inter Miami CF earned a hard-fought point at DRV PNK Stadium against FC Cincinnati in an eight-goal thriller on Saturday, July 30. Heineken Man of the Match Gonzalo Higuaín led the line, scoring the club’s second-ever hat trick, with all three goals coming in the first half. Recent signings Alejandro Pozuelo and Corentin Jean also notched their first assists for Inter Miami, and defensive talisman Christoper McVey bagged his first goal for the club in dramatic fashion deep into stoppage time to secure a point for the Herons.
Head coach Phil Neville praised the squad’s hunger in front of goal on the evening, and their consistent attitude of perseverance.
“I wanted us to commit to scoring goals. The never-say-die attitude is a big quality in this team; it’s what will make us successful. Some of the courage to play from the back in the first thirty to forty minutes, I thought, was outstanding. That’s why we recruited these players, because we trust in them, we believe in them, and they compete every single minute of every single game.”
Neville also lauded the depth of the roster, noting that the ability to bring on impactful attacking players was important in tonight’s game, and in every future match.
“Looking at the changes we made, we were strengthening the team in terms of our depth. Part of our strength at home, has been our collective discipline, our collective shape. We were throwing men forward, but we’re in the winning business. We’ve got twelve cup finals to go, so we can’t hang around. We’ve got to go for it. We have to use that anger, that frustration, that feeling we have now to go on a road trip to win games of fútbol.”
Higuaín also looked to the remaining matches of the 2022 MLS Regular season, and focused on the squad’s positive attributes.
“We have to look forward. We have twelve games left, and many points ahead of us. We’re three points away from a playoff spot with one less game played. For us, it’s important to do well in the next two matches. We have to strengthen the weaknesses we had today; we did many great things and we have to look forward.”
The Argentine forward now has seven goals in six games against FC Cincinnati after tonight’s hat-trick, and Higuaín took a moment to note that the team can still continue to improve.
“Personally it’s bittersweet; it would have been nice to win and the frustration is great because I think we had a lot of merit. As I said before, we are a team. We all win, and we all lose. We have to correct the mistakes we made, and reinforce the positives.”
Inter Miami CF goes into a double-header week on the road, first facing the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, August 3rd at 10:30 p.m. ET at PayPal Park. The team then travels to Saputo Stadium to take on CF Montreal on Saturday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET, before heading into the MLS All-Star break on August 10.
