US Open Cup: Indy Eleven Provide Late Drama in 1-0 Win against Miami FC
On a brisk night in Indy, the Eleven and Miami battled for 120 minutes in a scoreless affair. Then Hayden White's late header prevented PKs, and provided Indy with the win.
It was a chilly/brisk evening in Indianapolis. The Open Cup was back in town, Indy looked to reignite the magic of last year’s Semi-Final run, and Miami FC looked to be on the upswing following last weekend’s victory. After 120 minutes, there was nothing that could separate the two teams. Penalty Kicks looked to be a certainty, the voices of the Brickyard Battalion where starting to get sore, and Indy subbed on Hunter Sulte for Reice Charles-Cook in goal.
Then, in the 120th + 3rd minute, a Cameron Lindley corner kick found Hayden White for a header that would steal the victory mere seconds from penalty kicks. The defeat was palpable in Miami. Who put in a great effort on the road, and a vast improvement from these two team’s earlier matchup in league play. Miami was the better side, and was clearly the more dangerous side in the 30 minutes of Extra Time, but couldn’t get past the Grenadian goalkeeper.
A rotated squad for Indy saw several changes from last weekend’s disappointing draw vs North Carolina. Regular Starters Jack Blake, Hunter Sulte, Pat Hogan, Maalique Foster, Aodhan Quinn, etc did not start the match. On that rotational squad, regular Ben Ofeimu really stood out defensively paired alongside Fin McRobb. Credit to the defense, they looked sharped most of the night and only allowed Miami to get creative and take difficult shots.
Offensively, the midfield never really settled in and took control, while the forwards put in good effort but never got that finishing touch. Rendon and Collier stood out in the offensive efforts, while Player of the Match, Cameron Lindley did his best dictating tempo from midfield. Maalique would get subbed on in the 30 minutes of Extra Time and provided a great spark, but wasn’t able to create a clear goal scoring chance.
As of this morning, Indy was selected to be in the Landon Donovan Group for the Round of 32. The Eleven will take on MLS’ Philadelphia Union in Philadelphia on May 6th or 7th. The other matchup of the group is between USL-Championship’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds home vs New York City FC.
Landon Donovan group
Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. New York City FC
Philadelphia Union vs. Indy Eleven
Finally getting a home win for McAuley’s side, the team can now look forward to this weekend’s matchup vs the Charleston Battery. This matchup, will be (in my eyes), the indicator if Indy look to be a serious contender for a top-4 finish or not.
Indy’s USL-Championship Record (W-D-L): 1-2-1 5 pts
Next Match: USL Championship vs Charleston Battery (9 pts) on April 19th at 7pm EST from Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.