NYCFC's Magical Run Ends In Miami

 

Inter Miami CF with the championship trophy after their win. @InterMiamiCF.

Inter Miami CF, backed by a hat trick from Tadeo Allende, beat New York City Football Club, 5-1, in the MLS Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night.

It didn't take long for Allende, who entered this one with give goals in the postseason, to add to his league-leading mark. 

In the 14th minute, when he received a long volley from Sergio Busquets, and was able to get past NYCFC defender Raul Gustavo on the right side before he fired one past goalkeeper Matt Freese. 

Then, in the 20th minute, NYCFC's Maxi Moralez took a yellow card for a challenge at midfield, and there was a lengthy squabble afterwards between the clubs, including with his fellow countryman Lionel Messi, and play resumed a couple minutes later.

Right out of what could certainly be considered a delay, Busquets fired one across the length of the center line to Jordi Alba on the left side, who sent it in to Allende, who leaped past two NYCFC defenders and headed it home for his second of the night to give Miami the 2-0 edge.

Then, in the 37th minute, NYCFC finally got something going on offense and they earned a free kick on the right side.

Moralez took it, and he sent it to the top of the box, where Justin Haak jumped ahead of the pack and headed it toward the center of the net to make it a 2-1 game.

Haak is now the first homegrown player in NYCFC history to score a goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs the second to record a goal contribution, along with Tayvon Gray. 

That goal also broke a 262-minute shutout streak held by Inter Miami in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Justin Haak connecting on the header on his goal. Provided by NYCFC. 

Moralez earned the assist on the goal, and gave him goal contributions in three straight MLS Cup games this year. It was also his eighth in the MLS Cup Playoffs in his career. He also surpassed his own record as the oldest player in NYCFC history to record an assist in the postseason, at 38 years and 275 days old.

It was still just a 2-1 Miami lead well into the second half when NYCFC had a golden opportunity to tie the game.

In the 66th minute, NYCFC drove down the left side, and Nicolas Fernandez Mercau took it to the touch line before he sent a pass back to the top of the box on the right side to Julian Fernandez, who had just entered as a substitution.

Fernandez got plenty on it, as he also tried to get some float on it, but Miami goalkeeper was up to the task, as he flicked it away to the left side.

Miami moved it back up the field, and set up shop around the NYCFC box, with Rodrigo De Paul on the right send flicking one to Alba on the left, who then got it to Messi in the middle, and with three NYCFC defenders on him, he dropped it off to Matteo Silva, who fired it by Freese to make it 3-1 Miami in the 67th.

That sequence defined the game, as Miami was in control the rest of the way, as Telasco Segovia scored in the 83rd minute, with Alba notching another assist, and Allende finished off his hat trick with his third goal of the night in the 89th minute to put them up, 5-1.

Miami will move on to host Vancouver in the MLS Cup Final next Saturday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m.

Vancouver won at San Diego, 3-1, in the Western Conference Final late Saturday night.

This was NYCFC's third appearance in the Eastern Final in five years, the only team that has done that in this span of time. They won it in 2021 on the way to taking home the MLS Cup, lost to the Philadelphia Union a year later, and after two early playoff exits, lost this one to Miami.

NYCFC Head Coach Pascal Jansen was asked, in his postgame press conference, if this experience is something his young team can learn from, and he said, "Very much so. I mentioned this when we finished (talking) in the dressing room just now. When I walked in back in January to start this project, one of the things we mentioned was that we had to do better than the previous season. 

"From an objective standpoint, that's what we did: reaching the Final and having more points at the end of the MLS season. But to finish the season like this tells us we have a few more lessons to learn. With the players that we have, even though we were missing three key players, we shouldn't be as naive as we showed tonight. There are more lessons to learn, but it is time to rest now, and our full focus is on next season because we have to do better again."