MIAMI (February 22, 2020) — The Miami FC defeated USL’s League One Orlando City B 2-0 on Saturday as the club continues their preparations for their 2020 season.
Goals by forward Romario Williams and defender Marco Franco gave Miami FC the victory at Florida International University.
“I am delighted with the result but I know we still have some work to do,” said Miami FC Head Coach Nelson Vargas. “We created plenty of chances, but I think we could do a lot better in capitalizing on our opportunities.”
Miami FC’s goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre was key in the first half, making back-to-back saves in the 19th minute. The first save was made off a shot from outside the box, with the second save coming off the ensuing rebound from point-blank range.
Moments later Williams put the home side on the scoresheet, scoring a 24th minute goal. The Jamaican forward got on the end of a low cross from midfielder Prince Saydee and flicked it passed a diving OCB goalkeeper.
The first half saw both teams share most of the possession, with Miami FC creating several opportunities but not being able to capitalize on them.
“At the half, I told the team that we needed to go back to what we practice every week,” said Vargas. “We were not implementing our style of play in the first half and it showed in our positioning. The second half was much better in that regards.”
The home side came out swinging in the second half, creating over eight chances in the final 45 minutes.
The first of those came in the 55th minute, when Williams made a run into the box and fired a shot wide right. Moments later, defender Lloyd Sam and second-half substitute Vincent Bezecourt saw their back-to-back chances saved by OCB’s goalkeeper, who would be one of the main reasons the match ended only 2-0.
Seconds later, Jalen Markey forced OCB’s goalkeeper to make yet another diving save, this time off a header inside the 6-yard box.
In the final 15 minutes, Miami FC was able to really grab a hold of the possession of the ball and control the match.
With just over ten minutes left, Saydee made one of his signature one-on-one runs into the box flying past the defender. The left winger fed in another perfect low cross to the far post which was fired into the back of the net by Franco.
“It’s always great when not only your forwards are creating scoring chances,” explained Vargas. “Several of our defenders got chances to score, with Marco (Franco) scoring a goal of his own, and the midfielders also were able to create dangerous opportunities. The Miami FC style of play is exactly that, and we’re exciting to be close to playing our first game of the 2020 season.”
Miami FC Lineups (4-3-3): GK Brian Sylvestre (Mark Pais 46′, Bryant Gammiero 74′); D Lloyd Sam (Marco Franco 64′), Lance Rozeboom (Jalen Markey 20′), Lawrence Olum, Janos Löbe (Othello Bah 46′); M Tomas Granitto, Harrison Heath (Brian James 64′), Sebastian Velasquez; F Miguel Gonzalez (Vincent Bezecourt 55′), Romario Williams (Mohamed Thiaw 70′), Prince Saydee
