Online Reporter
Lionel Messi left injured in the 11th minute with hamstring discomfort, but Inter Miami earned a 5-4 penalty shootout win against visiting Necaxa following a 2-2 draw in Matchday 2 of Leagues Cup Phase One play on Saturday night.
Miami (1-0-1, 5 points) converted all of their penalties, with Luis Suarez clinching the extra point with a finish off the underside of the crossbar after a wild game that saw both teams finish with 10 men.
Herons goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo made one save, thwarting Tomas Badaloni’s attempt from the spot.
Earlier, Badaloni scored his third of the tournament in the 33rd minute for Necaxa (1-0-1, 4 points), who played 11-on-10 for 43 minutes after Inter Miami’s Maximiliano Falcon was ejected for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a 17th-minute foul.
Cristian Calderon’s second yellow card in the 60th minute evened numbers before Necaxa’s Ricardo Montreal and Miami’s Jordi Alba traded goals after the 80th minute.
Miami’s Telasco Segovia opened the scoring a minute after Messi’s departure.
The 38-year-old Messi limped off the field under his own power. Miami manager Javier Mascherano confirmed postgame that Messi felt hamstring soreness, and expressed optimism it was relatively minor.
All eight penalty takers converted to lift 10-man Club America to an important two points with an 8-7 penalty shootout victory after rallying from behind three times. Sebastian Caceres’ 90th-minute header pulled America (0-0-2, 3 points) level from behind for a third time in the match and fifth time in the tournament. Goalkeeper Luis Malagon then followed a sensational denial of Carlos Harvey in second-half stoppage time with a penalty save of Nicolas Romero on Minnesota’s eighth PK to help seal the shootout win.
The Mexico City outfit previously tied it at 1-1 through Michael Boxall’s own goal in the 27th minute and 2-2 on Jose Zuniga’s 53rd-minute contribution.
Tani Oluwaseyi and Bongi Hlongwane each scored their second goals of the tournament for Minnesota (1-0-1, 4 points). Harvey then put the Loons up 3-2 in the 65th minute, three minutes after America’s Igor Lichnovsky received his second yellow card.
The Cacique Mara team was due to compete in a South Carolina World Series tournament. – Reuters
Mathew Masinge