Miami FC goes into tonight’s derby match vs Tampa Bay without a win in four. I previewed this matchup from the Rowdies perspective yesterday over at the Florida Soccer Report but let’s do a quick overview of what Miami Head Coach Antonio Nocerino wants to see tonight.
Better defending on set pieces. Miami FC has conceded four goals from set pieces already this season. This continues the trend from last season when MFC was the worst team in the USL Championship at defending set pieces.
More in the way of fluid passing and aggressive movement off-the-ball in the final third. In the last outing, at Hartford we saw Miami FC moves break down in the final third much of the match. It wasn’t simply a situation where poor decisions were made by the player on-the-ball but also a case of movement becoming too static at times off-the-ball.
Balance in midfield. Gabriel Cabral’s insertion at halftime in Hartford gave Miami FC some balance in midfield that was totally lacking in the first half and made the counter-attacking opportunities for Hartford a little more difficult to come by.
More from Andrew Booth - Booth is Miami FC’s highest pedigree player in this division and was having an outstanding season until Saturday. By his high standards, he had a bit of a shocker in Hartford, but this is a great opportunity to bounce back.
Higher-energy play for 90 minutes: Tampa Bay has had huge lapses in each of its four previous matches. But MFC after three matches to start the season where they were dialed in against western conference opposition has had its own lapses the last two weeks against clubs from the east. If Miami FC can play with intensity for 90 minutes, no reason exists to believe they cannot win tonight.