Inter Miami advances to first U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal with 2-1 win over Nashville
Much of South Florida was tuned into the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics playoff game Tuesday night, but thousands of diehard soccer fans braved rain and a 40-minute lightning delay to see Inter Miami clinch its first U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal berth with a 2-1 win over Nashville SC at DRV PNK Stadium.
Miami will play the winner of Wednesday’s Birmingham Legion vs. Charlotte FC game in a quarterfinal match June 6 or 7. But first, they have three league matches to get through, on the road Saturday against CF Montreal, at home May 31 against New York Red Bulls and June 3 at home against D.C. United.
“Our focus now is trying to create history for this club and to get a trophy in that cabinet that at this moment in time only has academy trophies,” Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said. “Over the last 18 months we’ve had to suffer real adversity at times. After Saturday’s game [3-1 home loss to Orlando], we’ve been suffering, been getting criticism, rightly so. But that set of boys never cave in or give up.
“Can we be better? Yes. Can we play a better style or create more chances? Yes. But I don’t think anyone can question the character or spirit of this team. They will run through a brick wall for this club.”
Some fans had been critical of Neville and the team on social media in the past few days. He responded: “I love our fans. I understand their frustration. I’ve been brought here to deliver. I have had the backing from supporters and ownership. Negative comments I have seen, but I have also seen incredible support from La Familia. Keep trusting us. We’ll keep working hard. We’re doing this for them.”
The U.S. Open Cup game Saturday was so important to Inter Miami that Neville fielded nine of 11 regular starters, with Robert Taylor replacing Nico Stefanelli and Ian Fray in place of Benja Cremaschi.
Stefanelli, a midfielder from Argentina, came off the bench after the weather delay and scored the game-winning goal with a right-footed blast in the 73rd minute. The first Miami goal was also scored by an Argentine, defender Franco Negri, whose give-and-go with Taylor ended with a textbook left-footed finish in the 57th minute.
Neville gave a pep talk to a frustrated Stefanelli over the weekend, and he responded.
“That goal will help him, he’s a top, top player,” Neville said. “He came in and has played well and we had to take him out of the firing line and now I think he’ll explode.”
Stefanelli said Neville’s words of support gave him confidence and it paid off with the goal.
“As an attacking midfielder and striker, you always try to score goals and help the team, and I was feeling a period that I couldn’t find the last pass or the goal I wanted,” Stefanelli said. “Phil spoke to me and he made my confidence up again. He told me to relax, the goals will come, and that is exactly what happened.”
Fray, who grew up in Broward County, was making his first start after recovering from two ACL surgeries over the past two seasons. He was the third Inter Miami youth academy product to earn a start, following Cremaschi and David Ruiz.
Nashville, meanwhile, went with just one regular starter — defender Jack Maher. Seven regular Nashville starters, including 2022 MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and Fafa Picault, were on the bench. The remaining three (Dax McCarty, Lukas MacNaughton, Teal Bunbury) were not in uniform.
Nashville entered the game on an eight-game unbeaten run across all competitions and outscored opponents 15-5 during that stretch, including a 2-1 league win over Miami last Wednesday. Miami was trying to rebound from back-to-back losses after winning five games in a row.
“We said at the start of the season we’re going to go full tilt in every competition, and Nashville’s starting 11 told you a lot about where their priority lies,” Neville said. “They can afford to make those changes. We can’t afford to make those changes because we want to win and we’re not in the right form to experiment with players in different positions. So, we’re going to go for it.”
Although Nashville started its second team, Miami’s defense allowed Nashville too much space to roam early and was nearly punished a handful of times during the first half.
Randall Leal had a pair of shots blocked, including a near-goal in the 36th minute. Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender got his left glove on Leal’s close-range shot and redirected it off the left post. Jacob Shaffelburg got the rebound and took a shot, but it was cleared by DeAndre Yedlin.
Josef Martinez had Miami’s first attempt in the 38th minute, but it went over the crossbar. Negri had a shot blocked a few minutes later and Leo Campana missed two shots in the closing minutes of the first half.
Neville has challenged his players to be durable during the jam-packed May schedule and used NBA players as an example.
“We’ve seen some incredible basketball in the conference finals and they’re playing every two nights, 87 games a season, flying East to West Coast, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler are not getting rested. That’s why they’re the best.”
