RECAP: No W for the Herons; Red Bulls Tie Inter Miami Late, 2-2
This half was more controlled by Inter Miami in almost every metric. In the first 20 minutes, Miami had more possession, more goal chances, more shots, and more completed passes.
The only metric that Miami did not have in these first twenty minutes was goals.
First Half
Jorge Ruvalcalba’s first goal came in the fifteenth minute when Cade Cowell intercepted the ball and quickly passed it to Jakheele Marshall-Rutty, who then made a pass that set Julian Hall running and advancing the ball, drawing two defenders, leaving Ruvalcalba open, and he scored. After the goal, Miami caught a second wind and started to press more, but that only lasted about 10 minutes before Red Bull advanced their lines and increased the pressure.
In the 35th minute, Ruvalcalba, having the taste of scoring a goal, almost had a double on two chances, but Dwayne St. Clair stopped the first, and the other went wide. The next couple of minutes of the game were a return to the status quo, with Miami controlling everything, leading up to the stoppage-time goal by Mateo Silvetti, assisted by Rodrigo de Paul, at the death of the half.
In the equalizer goal, Marshall-Rutty, who had been playing well in the half, made Silvetti onside and did not look where he was, to which de Paul was able to do a through ball. Overall, it could have been over by the end of this half as Miami controlled every aspect of it with some bursts of Red Bull counterattacks. This also highlights Miami’s weakness, their backline.
Second Half
In a tale that continued from the previous half, Miami started to dominate this half. However, unlike the first half, Red Bull New York started to buckle. In the second goal in favor of the Herons, there was a major breakdown in the Red Bulls’ backline, with Robert Voloder’s interception giving Germán Bertrame a chance at a goal. Then, in a way to redeem the mistake on the second Miami goal, Voloder scored but was called off because Cowell was a little too early breaking in for a through ball made by Ronald Donkor. After the called-off goal, Miami kept attacking, and Leo Messi almost scored the third, but the ball went wide, forcing Evan Horvath to make a save.
In an interesting sub, Javier Mascherano changed the way the team was set up when he took out Silvetti for Gonzalo Luján.
Following this sub, Red Bull started to grow, resulting in Adri Mehmeti’s first-ever goal in the MLS after yet another Hall assist. After the second RBNY goal, Mascherano changed his structure again, this time bringing Luis Suarez for Ian Frey. This sub was originally intended to bring on another defender to finish the game, but the tying goal meant another attacking player was needed instead.
Final Thoughts
In this game, the Red Bulls were outmatched in all facets.
Interestingly, the Herons have not won in their new stadium, and the series record between the Red Bulls and the Herons is six wins each and seven draws.
Next week, the Red Bulls will play the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at home in the US Open Cup on Wednesday, then fly to Montreal for the revenge game on Saturday.
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