Intrastate Florida clash in US Open Cup Third Round
Miami United hosts Clud de Lyon at Broward College on Wednesday
Club de Lyon still hasn’t kicked off its NISA season but will face its second away date in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night. After defeating AS Frenzi in a local Central Florida Derby CDL faces Miami United, the perennial giant killers in this competition tomorrow.
Miami United is coming off its latest giant-killing- a 1-0 victory over Chattanooga FC in a match MUFC more or less controlled from start to finish. As my colleague Johnathan Starling wrote the night of match -
Make no mistake about it, Miami Untied deserved this victory. They set up in packs, weren’t afraid to challenge for the ball in the midfield, and in the entire ninety minutes only got caught out twice. Robertino Insúa was all of the midfield and was my man of the match. Jhon Pajoy’s free kick was a goal worthy of any goal of the round mentions. Miami United kept their shape, and when Cristian Blanco was called upon (which was rare), he was strong to any task.
Historically, Miami United has been very good in this competition. They pushed a more experienced Jacksonville Armada side to penalty kicks last year in first round and beat both Jacksonville and Miami FC away from home in 2018. In 2017, they were close to beating Jacksonville, out playing them for much of the match.
Club de Lyon have a much better team than last year in my opinion - certainly one with more experience. Though sentimentally I like what the club did last season in promoting local talent from Central Florida into the first team and giving them a pro opportunity. This season, the club has more a mixture of experienced professionals led by Burrito Martínez and some youngsters.
This should be a very good a match. Kickoff is set for 6pm at Broward College South.