The streak is over! Inter Miami conquer demons in 2-1 win over Montreal!

It’s finally over! Inter Miami have ended their seven game winless streak with a resilient 2-1 victory over CF Montreal at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

This game also marks the first win at home for Inter Miami as they were 0-5-2 heading into this matchup. You can tell how much this win means to everyone in the stands, on the pitch and in the front office as this was another small step to getting where this team wants to be. The same lineup that battled to a tie against the Philadelphia Union was on display aside from one change. Kelvin Leerdam was put in at right back and Nicolas Figal took Ryan Shawcross’ spot at the back.

The start of this game had some okay moments for Inter Miami as the formation between the defense and midfield was once again solid. Victor Ulloa and captain Gregore have forged a very good partnership in the middle of the pitch that keeps everything organized.

Unfortunately, the issue continues to remain the same as Inter Miami can not get much going in the final third. Gonzalo Higuain looked slower than usual out there in the first half as he couldn’t make any effective runs to support the wing play of Lewis Morgan or Robbie Robinson.

The few times Higuain was found on a run he was either offside or too slow to reach the pass. At the half, Inter Miami were only able to put together four total shots and one on target. The one being an incredible set piece shot from about 30 yards out from Federico Higuain. It was saved beautifully by goalkeeper James Pantemis to keep things level in the early parts of the game.

CF Montreal, on the other hand, were extremely poised throughout the opening half making perfect reads whenever the Herons decided to pressure up the field. Every time it felt like Inter Miami had Montreal with no way out they would put together a combination of passes that would find them with numbers up the pitch.

This would eventually lead to the breakthrough goal from Montreal as they were able to maneuver around Inter Miami’s pressure. This would allow Montreal defender Mathieu Choiniere to find enough space on the wings to deliver the cross into a dangerous area, where Mason Toye was ready to score the goal. Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman was able to disrupt it enough to stop Toye from scoring, but Joaquin Torres was there to follow it up and score the opening goal, making it 1-0 in the 20’.

At the half, CF Montreal had a 1-0 lead and had complete control of this game. Whether it was in possession or defense, Montreal were not allowing Inter Miami to do what they wanted. Every time the Herons would get into the final third they just couldn’t get by the wall they create on themselves.

Thankfully, that all changed in the second half as Inter Miami came out with a sense of urgency and drew a penalty in the opening two minutes. Ulloa found Gonzalo onside in the box and he was struggling to keep his balance to take a shot with multiple Montreal defenders around him. Luckily, his brother was there to get a touch on the loose ball and draw the foul to get Inter Miami the penalty.

There was no doubt who was going to step up to take this important shot as the star man Gonzalo Higuain was ready to take the burden. He waited for the keeper to make the first move and he shot the ball right down the middle to make it 1-1 in the 49’ as the Higuain brothers combine to give Miami a ray of hope in what has been the biggest struggle in club history.

Montreal started to get a few solid opportunities at goal shortly after, they just forgot to bring their shooting boots out for the second half. First, Torres showed off his incredible technical skills to get open in the box and his cross was hit poorly by Djordje Mihailovic attempted bicycle kick. A few minutes later it was Torres again, who made a few Inter Miami players miss before delivering a perfect ball to Toye, who was able to avoid Marsman before launching the ball wide. Another incredible display of combination play moments later found defender Zachary Brault-Guillard open in the box and his attempt at goal was also completely misfired.

Miami needed to capitalize on these missed chances from Montreal, but the starting lineup was no longer having the same effect as it was early on in the second half, so Phil Neville made an important change. He brought on Blaise Matuidi for Federico Higuian to solidify the control of the midfield and that is exactly what it did. Montreal could no longer get through Miami’s defense with ease as Matuidi, Ulloa and Gregore were locking things down.

This allowed Miami to pressure higher up the pitch, which resulted in a poor mistake from Montreal defender Rudy Camacho as he held on to the ball for too long. Higuain was able to get ahold of the loose ball and took a blistering shot from just outside the box, which was originally saved by Pantemis, but he didn’t get enough on it as the ball would bounce into the back of the net and give Higuain his brace and Inter Miami a 2-1 lead in the 69’.

The next 25 minutes were an incredible display of defensive discipline from Figal and Gonzalez-Pirez as they made sure to make every delivery near the box a difficult one to handle causing turnovers and not allowing a single shot on target.

Towards the end of the 90 minutes, Gonzalo Higuain was subbed off and instead of boos, which had been a constant over this bad stretch of play, the home fans gave him a standing ovation for an incredible second half performance.

After six minutes of added time the whistle was blown and the elation on the players body language was obvious. The streak is over and Inter Miami have been able to put together two solid back to back performances against solid Eastern Conference competition.

There is no question that this team still has a long way to go tactically and technically, but you can not deny that what we have seen recently is a rejuvenated squad that has the mentality and heart to fight for their club and fans.

Next up for Inter Miami they head to Exploria Stadium to take on rivals and top Eastern Conference club, Orlando City, on Wednesday, August 8th at 8:00 PM EST. This will be an important test for the Herons as they go to prove that these last two game were not just a fluke, but what you should expect from this team moving forward.