Touchline Talk presented by Al-Flex
Inter Miami CF suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in stoppage time on the road against Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium on July 9. Head coach Phil Neville addressed the media after the game, and commented on the team’s disappointment after playing valiantly for the entire match.
“Sometimes football is cruel. We wanted to come here and really go for it, and I thought we did. We got into some really good positions, we had really good control, really good movements. These games against Orlando, I think, are a fantastic spectacle, with brilliant intensity. I feel as if we competed well. We dominated a lot of the possession and I just didn’t feel as if we got our just rewards.”
Despite the lengthy weather delay, the team was buoyed by its ever-electric supporters, La Familia, that made the journey north to cheer them on.
“Incredible, the way they support us,” Neville said, “Our supporters drove up from Miami to Orlando. They stayed with us right to the end, and they’re not going to be home until four or five o’clock in the morning. In terms of the players and our supporters, it was a brilliantly contested derby.”
Neville also explained that the team’s focus is always on moving forward, and learning from every game.
“I told [the team] there’s no time to feel sorry for themselves. No one has to apologize to anyone. Those players gave everything for this fútbol club tonight. We’re disappointed, but we move on. We’ve got eighteen games to go now where we have to go for it. We have to score goals, we have to attack. We have to punish teams when we have the chance to punish teams. Now, it’s just about being ruthless. We’re heading back to DRV PNK Stadium now for a big game against Philadelphia [Union] on Wednesday.”
Inter Miami CF returns to South Florida for a three game home stand at DRV PNK Stadium. First, the team hosts Philadelphia Union in MLS regular season action on Wednesday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET. Tickets for this match are available HERE.
In its following match, Inter Miami welcomes Charlotte FC to DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday, July 16 at 8 p.m. ET before hosting FC Barcelona in a friendly match on Tuesday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET
