Gonzalo Higuain scored a brace, including the late winner three minutes after Nick Hagglund's dramatic equalizer, spoiling the party at the eagerly anticipated opening of TQL Stadium and lifting Inter Miami CF to a 3-2 victory over FC Cincinnati.
Hagglund rose up to meet a Luciano Acosta corner kick and powerfully headed in the tying goal from the edge of the six-yard box in the 82nd minute.
The hometown boy celebrated in front of the Bailey, but Higuain silenced the crowd five minutes from full time, latching onto a Lewis Morgan cross and scoring between a pair of defenders.
Brek Shea put himself into the record books with the first goal scored in TQL Stadium, needing just seven minutes to give Miami a 1-0 lead. Shea got inside positioning on Joe Gyau, lunging forward to meet Gregore’s back-post cross with the sliding finish.
Shea thought he had a brace inside the first 20 minutes, but his second goal was called back because Higuain, who was partially laying in the net, deflected the attempt.
Higuain went from being in the net to putting the ball there, combining with older brother Federico on a goal that gave Inter Miami a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute as the visitors again capitalized on defensive miscues to double their advantage.
Alvaro Barreal breathed some life into the new digs with FC Cincinnati's first goal at TQL Stadium in the 59th minute, latching onto a ball over the top of Miami's defense before chipping goalkeeper John McCarthy. The crowd was raucous on Hagglund's equalizer, but Higuain responded immediately as FC Cincinnati's search for a first win of the 2021 season continues.
GoalsÂ
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: It’s not a Picasso, but the response from Inter Miami to a disheartening midweek home loss to CF Montréal was a positive one. Still a work in progress, but an important three points on the road. FC Cincinnati failed to rise up to the occasion of a stunning stadium opener and suffered a 36th straight defeat after conceding first. It's especially painful for those in the stands, who saw their squad claw back and equalize late, only to concede the winner in short order.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Gonzalo Higuain was all over this one. More on him below, but this bizarre moment will perhaps be talked about more than his winner.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Higuain scores the brace and check out his effort on the game-winner. It’s the 85th minute and the 33-year-old is running like a 20-year-old to start, and finish, the sequence.
Next UpÂ
- CIN: Saturday, May 22 at CF Montréal | 1 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
- MIA: Saturday, May 22 at Chicago Fire FC | 6 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter (English audio) | MLS regular season
