Messi Mania Takes Over Yankee Stadium, But NYCFC Finishes With Late Frenzy

 

Lionel Messi lining up a free kick in the fifth minute. Photo by Jason Schott.

Lionel Messi is the latest major sports star to have graced the field at Yankee Stadium, as he brought his Inter Miami CF into The Bronx for a match with New York City FC on Saturday afternoon.

Most of the crowd of 44,738 at Yankee Stadium was there to see the greatest soccer star of his generation, and it was easy to spot most of them clad in Messi's #10 jerseys in Miami's pink and black, or the light blue and white of his  Argentinian national jersey.

The scene during the National anthem. Photo by Jason Schott.

Messi had a chance to make his impact felt immediately, as he took a free kick on the right side of the box, and he fired it just wide.

Messi's free kick on its way towards the net. Photo by Jason Schott.

Soon after, he took a corner kick from the right corner, right in front of the Yankee dugout, and that nearly caught the left corner.

Those were Miami's best chances in what turned into an evenly matched first half, which basically had no extra time.

The second half was more of the same to start, and it started to get pretty testy around twenty minutes into it. There were five yellow cards handed out by referee Jon Freemon between the 63rd and 71st minutes (four to Miami, one to NYCFC), as well giving a red card to a Miami assistant coach, ejecting him from the game.

Soon after this distraction, which really broke the momentum of the game, with most of them not exactly having a high bar to warrant that punishment, Miami got the lead in the 75th minute when Leonardo Campana buried a left-footed strike from the center of the box.

Inter Miami celebrating their goal. Photo by Jason Schott.

It stayed that way until the end of extra time, when NYCFC had a free kick in the 94th minute. Miami turned that attempt aside, but it resulted in a corner kick from the left side, basically the right field corner.

Santiago Rodriguez sent a perfect strike into the center of the box, and James Sands headed it home to tie the game in what was basically the last play of the game. The goal is shown in the following pics below:

Photos by Jason Schott.

Sands said of the goal, "It was last minute, so we threw numbers in the box, and I took a chance with my run in the box, and I was lucky that the ball was very good and then I finished it. I don't score often but it's nice to have this one. I think it'll mean a lot to our team."

NYCFC, who was coming off a 5-1 defeat to Philadelphia on Wednesday at The Stadium, improved to 11-8-11, with 41 points, in fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference, while Inter Miami is now 19-7-4, with 64 points, in first place well in front of the rest of the pack.

COACH'S COMMENTS: NCYFC Head Coach Nick Cushing addressed the media after the game: 

On this being the second-highest attended game in NYCFC history and the message to the fans who attended for the first time: "I hope they enjoyed the game. I hope we played attacking football. I hope they see the level of the league is exciting. These were two teams that were both attacking each other in an end-to-end game. I was proud that we created many chances in the game and the one thing I will say is our supporters' section and every New York City fan that came out tonight pushed us right to the end. They supported us throughout the game. They really gave us life and energy. When the shouts came for the opposition, I love that our fans sang over it. It was a really proud moment because I've seen it different in other stadiums where you go away and you can hear the opposition's players names being sung and the Messi shouts ringing around the stadium.

"They started off in the first half and I could hear the New York fans sing over it. I love that. That tells me we have a real heartbeat, a real soul in our football club, and I think that is what will be the inspiration for the moment to give our season a kickstart, seeing all the New York fans come out and really be behind us and have a desire. One thing I will say, and I hope you guys can print this and make sure I fancy it, I love the tifo. The tifo was something that really gave me a spirit before the game."

On James Sands scoring the equalizer in the 95th minute: "It's really important for us and he should be really proud. He's a Homegrown [player]. He is our player. He is somebody that, this year, he's really shown his quality. If you look at data and the statistics of his game, he wins the most tackles, the most duels and he regains the most balls in MLS and that is a huge thing to have on your team...He is a top player. He is a New Yorker through and through. 

"Sometimes these moments are written, for James Sands, to score the equalizer against Miami. It's a really good moment for us but it's also an opportunity for us."