Atlanta United traveled to Fort Lauderdale to face Eastern Conference rival Inter Miami. Each team is almost identical in stats, but so far, neither has had a good run. Both were looking for a victory to move up in rankings, but a draw kept them put in their current places.
The visitors were two rankings higher than the home team, giving them a slight edge over the other. From the start, Atlanta got the ball rolling quickly, dominating most of the play. Shortly into the match, they were up on the scoreboard with ease. Emerson Hyndman passed the ball off to Josef Martinez at the center of the 18-yard box. Martinez made a fast turn and hit the ball low with power into the bottom left corner with his left foot. With an easy goal in the 9th minute and Miami struggling to get organized, the game remained one-sided. This was Martinez’s first goal since coming back from an ACL injury in 2020.
Things escalated from there, and both teams got more aggressive and dirty. A total of 19 fouls were committed in the first half alone between both groups. Just as well, the ref yellow-carded Gregore (Miami) and Marcelino Moreno (Atlanta) for playing too rough.
Miami had a chance to tie it up soon after the goal scored against them but was unable to capitalize on it. Lewis Morgan got the ball in the center of the box with a nearly wide-open net to shoot at. Unfortunately for him, Brad Guzan (goalkeeper) barely got a foot on it to tip it away, keeping his team up 1-0.
At halftime, Atlanta had a good control of the game and having any scoring chances.
Most of the second half remained that way until the 77th minute when Atlanta let up too easily. Morgan made up for his previous attempt by netting one in the bottom right corner to tie the match 1-1. His teammate Gregore assisted him with a long pass from mid-field, and Morgan dribbled to goal the rest of the way.
Now with the game on the line, both teams began taking any shots they could to regain the lead. As regulation ran out, overtime started up. Victor Ulloa almost earned a goal in stoppage time for Miami to have a comeback win. However, Guzan deflected it, and as it bounced off him, Ulloa went for the rebound but was tripped by Guzan. Many of the players, including the manager, called for a penalty, but the ref denied it.
After the match ended in a draw, Miami manager Phil Neville commented on the last play. He stated, “100% a penalty. I think we should have had two maybe. Poor refereeing.” Neville further continued on to say, “…whoever has reviewed it has let the referee down, but we’ll put that in the report.”
Others disagreed with Neville’s statement, like Guzan. The goalkeeper claimed, “…he said the same thing to me as we walked off the field.” He later said, “For me, it’s not a penalty. I disagree with him.”
Now with a tied result, Atlanta remains in 7th place with a record of 1-2-1. Meanwhile, Miami is still in 9th, also recording a 1-2-1 record.
Up Next
Inter Miami takes on Montreal at DRK PNK Stadium on Wednesday, May 12th. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Atlanta will face Montreal on Saturday, May 15th Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET.
