Super sub Vassilev scores twice in final minutes as Inter Miami beats Minnesota 2-1

Just when it seemed Inter Miami fans were going to head home brokenhearted, along came Indiana Vassilev off the bench in the 83^rd minute to save the night.

Trailing Minnesota United 1-0, Miami coach Phil Neville turned to Vassilev for a late-game spark and got fireworks. Vassilev scored in the 87^th minute and again in the 90^th to lead Miami to a 2-1 win.

The DRV PNK Stadium crowd – which included Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro and U.S. national team players Tim Weah and Zach Steffen – erupted after both goals as a pink cloud of smoke enveloped the field.

Playing at home for the first time in a month, Inter Miami extended its home unbeaten streak to six games and moved up to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 points, one spot shy of the playoff line with 18 games remaining.

Neville had a chat with Vassilev before the game, assured him he would get minutes off the bench, and urged him to maintain his composure in front of the goal. He felt Vassilev had been “uptight” in recent games and wanted him to relax.

Vassilev re-joined the team on May 5 on loan from English club Aston Villa after playing with Inter Miami on a season-long loan last season. He had played in six games this season but had not scored.

“I told Indiana, `The goals will come, just compose yourself a little bit more,’’’ Neville said. “He’s had three, four, five chances in games and was snatching on things, getting more and more tense. He was putting a lot of pressure on himself. I’m really, really proud of Indiana. Since he’s come in, he’s totally livened up the place again.”

Vassilev was “happy and relieved” to finally score. He said he had never had such an exciting three minutes in his career.

“Phil told me I was going to be left out, but I was going to play minutes, but I didn’t know how much I was going to play,” Vassilev said. “Obviously, as a player you don’t like being left out, so I guess there was more fire. Since I’ve been here I’ve gotten in good positions, but haven’t had that finishing touch, but it just clicked (Saturday). It felt very good on a personal note, but most importantly we got three points.”

Neville credited all the subs – Vassilev, Emerson Rodriguez, Gonzalo Higuain – for the victory.

“I feel the Inter Miami of last year wouldn’t have won that game,” Neville said. “This is a different team, we keep going to the end. We’ve got subs that want to play for their team. We talked about the sacrifices needed to win and be successful, you put aside your egos and support each other. I’m a lucky manager that we’ve got a team with all the qualities to compete. I’m super proud of how they scored late. It shows their fighting qualities.”

Neville also singled out the play of midfielder Bryce Duke, who had the assist on Vassilev’s first goal and controlled the midfield much of the night: “I thought he was the best player on the pitch. He’s becoming a man. Whenever we’re selecting teams or making substitutions we always say, `Where can Bryce play? Where can we fit him in?’ because he’s such an intelligent footballer. I feel we’ve got a little gem.”

Saturday night’s game was the first ever meeting between Inter Miami and Minnesota, both of which have struggled to find the back of the net this season. Entering the game Miami had 15 goals in 15 games and Minnesota had 16. The offensive woes continued Saturday, as the game remained knotted 0-0 through 64 minutes.

Miami dominated possession 57 percent to 43 percent in the first half, and outshot the Loons eight to four, with two shots on goal. Despite many nice passing sequences and a more organized attack, the home team failed to finish.

The best first-half chance for Miami came from Leo Campana in the 33^rd minute, when he received a pinpoint low cross from Ariel Lassiter just in front of the goalmouth but missed a golden opportunity when his close-range shot went straight to Dayne St. Clair who made the save.

Minnesota finally got on the scoreboard in the 65^th minute when Luis Amarillo right-footed a shot inside the six-yard box off an Emanuel Reynoso assist.

Inter Miami was missing starting midfielder Jean Mota, who was serving a red card suspension. Victor Ulloa started in his place.

Miami’s next two games are on the road at Dallas on July 4 and Orlando on July 9.

Note: Six Inter Miami players are playing in the CONCACAF U-20 Championships in Honduras this week: First team - Noah Allen (USA), Edison Azcona (Dominican Republic). Inter Miami II - Bryan Destin (Haiti), Kobi Thomas (Jamaica), Israel Boatright (Dominican Republic), Dairon Reyes (Cuba). Destin, 16, is the youngest player in the tournament and scored for Haiti in a match.