By Alex Toledo/Staff Writer
With yet another W, this time, beating the Jacksonville Armada 4-nil, the Miami
FC are beaming and have won 12 consecutive matches. The team is safely in first place
in the NASL at 8-3-1, seven points ahead of the New York Cosmos and San Francisco
Deltas.
After beating the MLS’ Orlando City Thursday night in Orlando, the pressure was
on Miami FC to continue their dominance. Once again, they showed that what they’ve
been doing isn’t a fluke, destroying the Jacksonville Armada 4-0 on a crowded Saturday night.
“We’re calm. We’re not looking around us, we’re looking amongst ourselves and
we’re looking at what we have to do day-to-day,” said Ariel Martinez, speaking on the
outside teams trying to catch up to Miami FC.
Miami came out firing and in control of the ball, attempting three shots before
Vincenzo Rennella lost the ball in the box and Stefano Pinho recovered, scoring at the
15 minute mark. 13 minutes later, Rennella scored the team’s second goal in the first
half hour of the game off a Dylan Mares lead pass.
The team responded to the home crowd’s intense atmosphere, relentlessly
attacking the Armada on both ends of the floor for most of the night, with 13 total
attempts at the goal. The team capitalized by scoring their final two goals in six quick
minutes. The crowd erupted after Rennella scored in the 79th minute and Ariel
Martinez followed it up with a score in the 85th minute.
Despite keeping the ball in their field for the start of the second half, Jacksonville
could not take advantage and execute because of Miami FC’s pestering defense,
leading to less possession time and three yellow cards for the Armada.
“We’re very happy. We’ve been working hard and this is what we want– to be
strong in this league and have a name,” said Ariel Martinez. “Remember last year when
everyone said, ‘When is Miami going to win?’ Well, here we are winning matches and
getting whatever we want.”
Up next, Miami FC faces off against the New York Cosmos on Saturday night
before taking on the MLS’ Atlanta United FC the following Wednesday in the 5th round
of the US Open Cup.
“Beating a team like Atlanta is very important for the owner, for the players, for
me and for the city,” said Head Coach Alessandro Nesta.