Melbourne, Fla. (February 20, 2022) – The Miami Football Club closed out its 2022 preseason trip with a doubleheader against Orlando City B (OCB) and Soccer Institute Montverde Academy (SIMA) at Orlando Heath Stadium in Melbourne, Fla. The first friendly was a 90-minute encounter against OCB, which saw Miami win 5-2, and the second exhibition match ended in a goalless draw after the intended 60 minutes of play.
Head coach Anthony Pulis divided his roster into two squads. Squad one started the first game against OCB and played until the 75th-minute of the game. Squad two finished the game against OCB and played the entirety of the clash against SIMA. The only exceptions to this rotation were the keepers. Jake McGuire played the first half against OCB, Noah Abrams defended Miami’s goal for the first time playing the second half, and returner Connor Sparrow played 60 minutes against SIMA.
Squad 1
Defenders: Luca Antonelli, Sean McFarlane, Benjamin Ofeimu, trialist
Midfielders: Lamar Walker, Christian Sorto, Junior Palacios, trialist, trialist
Forward: Adonijah Reid
Squad 2
Defenders: Callum Chapman-Page, Paco Craig, Aedan Stanley, Mark Segbers
Midfielders: Florian Valot, Bolu Akinyode, Devon “Speedy” Williams, Joshua Peréz, Pierre Da Silva
Forward: Kyle Murphy
Vs. Orlando City B
Forward Adonijah Reid found the back of the net twice in the opening 25 minutes of the game. Defender Sean McFarlane set Reid up for his first goal, where he powered through a defender and tucked his shot past the goalkeeper. The second was similar to the first, with the Canadian international receiving a pass in the box, beating a defender and hitting the side-net from an acute angle.
Midfielder Lamar Walker, who played wide on his favorite left flank, scored a third for Miami in the 30th-minute. OCB cut the difference to two goals late in the first half (3-1).
Walker scored his second goal of the day thanks to a driven cross from a trialist and a dummy fake by midfielder Christian Sorto. The Jamaican international beat his defender with pace and hit the ball past the keeper to make it 4-1.
Midfielder Joshua Peréz left OCB’s goalkeeper standing with a curled attempt from outside the 18-yard box in the 84th-minute to make it 5-1. The Miami FC won the match 5-2 after OCB scored a last-minute goal.
Vs. Soccer Institute Montverde Academy
The Miami FC dominated the first half, with five chances in the opening 17 minutes. Midfielder Pierre Da Silva sped away from two defenders on the left flank and produced a cut-back pass to Peréz in the 5th-minute, but SIMA’s goalkeeper hung on to the ball. Da Silva beat defenders again and unleashed a powerful shot to the second post in the ninth minute, but the keeper pushed it away for a corner. The corner saw three attempts at goal. Midfielder Bolu Akinyode hit the goal post in the first chance, and midfielder Florian Valot hit the target and another shot wide. Valot had the last attempt at goal of the first 30-minute half in the 17th minute, but the keeper made another save.
As the match went on, it became more physical, causing the ref to call fouls often. The game finished in a goalless draw.
The Miami Football Club continues their preseason with games against Nova Southeastern on Saturday and Fort Lauderdale CF on Sunday.
