Campana, Duke lead Inter Miami to 2-1 win over Atlanta, club’s first four-game streak
The big question going into Sunday’s Inter Miami home game against Atlanta United was whether coach Phil Neville would stick with red-hot Leo Campana as a lone forward or pair him with $6 million Gonzalo Higuain, the former starter who was available after missing three games (all wins) with a knee injury.
Neville stuck with what was working, and Campana delivered yet again. He scored his fifth goal in the past four games, and unselfishly provided the assist on Bryce Duke’s game-winning goal to lead Miami to a 2-1 victory for the first four-game win streak in club history.
Campana’s game-tying goal in the 28th minute was world-class. Ariel Lassiter and DeAndre Yedlin worked the ball up the right sideline, Yedlin sent in a pinpoint cross, and Campana then made a sublime first touch to bring down the ball, pivoted around and rifled in a low shot for the finish.
But it wasn’t that goal or the assist that most impressed Neville about his talented Ecuadorean forward. It was his classy behavior when the coach pulled him from the game in the 80th minute and replaced him with Higuain.
A chorus of boos rained down on Higuain from the DRV PNK crowd of 13,433 and Campana shook his head with disapproval, raised his finger in the air and wagged it at the fans, as if to say, “Do not boo this legend.” He then gave Higuain a heartfelt hug as the 34-year-old Argentine took the field.
“He’s a boy that’s so humble, that’s got his feet on the ground, if you were looking for a sign to what he’s about it was when he walked off the field,” Neville said. “I thought that was real class. That’s a boy that respects people that have been there and done it in the game.”
Higuain made a few nice plays during his shift but seemed to re-injure himself after being taken down for a foul. He stayed down while trainers attended to him, briefly went to the sideline, but them limped back onto the field, determined to finish the game. When the final whistle sounded, he dropped to the ground and sat there for a while before limping over to thank the fans and hug his family members.
“I told Gonzalo two or three days ago he’d be a sub and he respects that, he wants to win and be a champion,” Neville said. “We will need him, but what’s happened is, football is really brutal. You either jump on the train with the rest of the boys that are going at 90 miles per hour or you get left at the station. Everyone on this club has to jump on the train and Gonzalo’s one of those that has to jump on the train because it’s growing and it’s growing fast, they’re getting more confidence and belief.”
Neville started the same lineup he used the past few league games, except for starting Mo Adams at midfield in place of captain Gregore, who sat out with yellow card accumulation.
Atlanta struck first in the 13th minute when Ronaldo Cisneros, on loan from Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara, knocked in a close-up shot off a corner kick. Campana tied it up and the game remained tied at halftime.
Atlanta continued to challenge Miami’s defense, getting into dangerous spaces in and around the penalty area. Neville brought in Duke and Noah Allen to add fresh legs and switched to a 5-3-2 formation to clog the final third. Atlanta wound up with 20 shots compared to seven for Miami. But Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman made a few big saves and the home team persevered.
Miami took the lead in the 64th minute when energetic Duke, a 21-year-old fresh off the bench, scored his first MLS goal. He got a game ball signed by his teammates as a memento.
“Campana’s pass to Bryce Duke was world class,” Neville said. “I was screaming for him to shoot, but the quality, composure shows where this kid’s going to go. He knows he’s in a rich vein of form and it’s his time.”
He said it reminded him of his former Manchester United teammate Eric Cantona, who had a knack for passing the ball to players in better position to score.
Duke, who started the goal sequence from midfield before darting in to receive Campana’s pass, said he would have been equally happy whether he or Campana had scored, so long as the team won. He added that the goal is a confidence booster and gets him closer to his objective of breaking into the starting lineup.
Neville said Sunday’s game, which was on ESPN, demonstrated his resurgent team’s “indomitable spirit”.
“Three weeks ago, we were the worst team in the whole of MLS,” Neville said. “The results are so inconsistent, and it’s a long road, but one thing I would say is that when people are tuning in now, they’re seeing a different Inter Miami team than they saw in the past and that’s really important.”
Miami (3-4-1) moved up to eighth place in the Eastern Conference and plays on the road Saturday night at New England.
