It’s not time to head out to South Beach and celebrate, but Phil Neville likes what he’s seeing from Inter Miami CF of late.
The club has pieced together back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC Saturday night was their first multi-goal win in the club’s short history. Miami have lost just once in their last seven and have climbed to within five points of the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.
“We are a different team than we were one month ago, two months ago,” Neville said after the match. “We’re a different team from what I saw the first day of preseason training. We’re a team now that’s beginning to trust each other other. It does feel good.”
It's a far cry from a stretch of six consecutive defeats, which culminated with a 5-0 home defeat by the New England Revolution on July 21, the low point of their season to date.
“The players are now gaining lots of confidence and belief and trust in each other and we’ve got to keep that momentum going,” Neville said. “It’s a grind, this league is a marathon and the first half of the marathon we were lagging behind everyone. Now we’ve given ourselves a chance by getting some victories and getting ourselves within touching distance of those above us. The players are enjoying that challenge.”
Among those whose confidence is surging is Rodolfo Pizarro. The Mexican international had just two assists in his first 12 games this season, with rumors swirling the Designated Player would be transferring out.
But Pizarro now has three goals in his last two games, including a brace against Toronto FC. He was frustrated to be subbed off after 67 minutes, a reaction Neville saw as a positive.
“I actually really loved his reaction in terms of the anger to come off because we’ve seen many times this season when he’s been disappointed coming off, when he’s been disappointed in himself,” Neville said. “Now he’s got that hunger and desire to want to stay on the pitch and score goals. He’s got his confidence back, three goals in two goals tells me he’s just getting better and better.”
So too, Neville believes, are Miami, with a rivalry showdown against Orlando City SC on the horizon next Saturday (8:30 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes) at Exploria Stadium as part of Heineken Rivalry Week.
“I’m so proud of our players. There’s some tired limbs in there. They had to go again,” Neville said. “Ultimately, 3-1 doesn’t do it justice. I honestly thought we should have been five, six with the chances we created. But we won the game. That's all that matters. We’ve got to recover and go against Orlando. We can’t get carried away.”
