Inter Miami loses heartbreaker 2-1 to Orlando in MLS is Back opener, Reyes injured

Major League Soccer officially resumed Wednesday night after a four-month shutdown; and though there were no fans at the game to celebrate, Inter Miami and Orlando City offered a national T.V. audience a much-needed 90-minute respite from the coronavirus pandemic.

Orlando won 2-1 on an injury-time goal by Nani, but the score was not as important as the message: live sports is back.

Juan Agudelo scored for Miami off a Victor Ulloa feed in the 47^th minute, launching the bench players – all in masks – out of their 6-feet-apart seats. The team mood switched from joyous to nervous a few minutes later when defender Andres Reyes stayed down convulsing on the field after being elbowed in the throat by Orlando’s Dom Dwyer.

Reyes, a 20-year-old Colombian, was carried off the field strapped to a stretcher as he writhed in pain. He was being assessed by doctors on-site, and coach Diego Alonso said he had no update on Reyes’ injury during the post-game interview. Inter Miami players had trouble regrouping after Reyes’ injury and Chris Mueller tied the game for Orlando in the 70th minute.

“The guys in the locker room are absolutely gutted the way the night went,” said Inter Miami captain Luis Robles.

Inter Miami dropped to 0-3, all the losses have been by one goal.

Robles went on to say “the reason the guys are so gutted, when you look at our results thus far, we played three games, matches we’ve all been in, and for whatever reason they have not gone our way. But what’s really frustrating, I think, is that it was avoidable.”

He said that while he has “a lot of respect” for Dwyer and his physical style of play, referee Rubiel Vazquez should have been tougher on him. “If the referee is going to them the type of margin, rope to play that way, he’s going to be very impactful. You can see in the first half there were several moments where I felt that the fouls were very, very hard coming in from behind and yet, (Vazquez) continued to say they were soft fouls, and weren’t necessarily a foul and everyone on the field could see it. It had a massive impact on the rest of the game. For us to lose a guy like Andres completely changed the complexion of the game.”

The MLS is Back Tournament – the first U.S. men’s professional team competition since March -- kicked off at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports amid a mood of excitement, anxiety and uncertainty. Despite the league’s exhaustive efforts to keep its players virus-free, FC Dallas left the event after 10 positive COVID-19 tests and Nashville SC could be on the verge of having to withdraw with a similar number of positives.

But 24 of the 26 teams are ready to play. Well, as ready as can be expected after such a long layoff and the same distractions that have plagued people all over the world.

Both Inter Miami and Orlando City showed signs of rust, but their energy and passion were evident as their every grunt, shout and instruction (much of it in Spanish) could easily be heard in the spectator-free venue. The ESPN audience got the same raw sound, as the network chose not to pipe in artificial crowd noise, as some European leagues have been doing.

MLS players used the occasion to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement. More than 70 members of the newly-formed Black Players for Change in MLS coalition ringed the field before the game in black t-shirts with slogans such as “Black and Proud” and “Silence is Violence”. They stood in silence, right fists raised, for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, in memory of George Floyd, the Black man who died in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for that length of time.

“When you think about how the night started, it was a beautiful (Black Lives Matter) ceremony with a powerful message,” Robles said. “For the players to organize the way they did, they should be very proud. To use their platform to be an agent of change is very important when you look at the position we have to influence our community, our nation and the fans of this league. I was very honored to be on the field sharing that moment with those guys.”

Usually this time of year, the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex is packed with youth tournaments, everything from soccer to basketball to baton twirling. Traffic in the area is typically heavy, a mix of vacationers and Disney theme park buses. But this is no ordinary July.

T.V. trucks, tents and barricades fill the Wide World of Sports parking lots and the complex is split into two restricted areas – one for MLS, the other for the NBA, which is moving in this week.

The only spectators for Wednesday’s game were the broadcast crews, team staff, and about a dozen media members, who covered the match wearing masks from a bleacher across the field. Each reporter had to fill out an online health screening questionnaire and have their temperature taken at the gate before entering the tournament grounds.

“It’s eerily quiet here, as a guy who grew up in Florida going to Disney,” Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya, a Weston native and St. Thomas Aquinas High grad, said on the eve of the tournament. “I mean, these hotels are (usually) packed with families and kids and babies crying and stuff.”

Bedoya said he was “very skeptical” about the plan to bring all 26 teams to Orlando for the tournament, calling it “a luxurious prison” at one point. “I was scared coming here as we all saw Florida (cases) blowing up because Florida’s gonna Florida and the cases around here just increasing at a crazy rate.”

But now that he is here, he is getting used to the idea. Other than the Dallas and Nashville team outbreaks, the rest of the test results have been encouraging. From July 7-8, a total of 1,888 players, coaches, referees and staff were tested for COVID-19. Of that group, four tested positive, all from two clubs.

“I don’t think the bubble has been burst, so to speak…even when we’re walking in hallways guys are walking on the other side and just saying, `Hi,’ not stopping to talk too long with one another…I try to stay as positive and optimistic as possible. We’re down here already, so looking forward to playing for some positive things instead of always doom and gloom and negativity”

Despite the complications, New England Revolution coach Bruce Arena is in favor of MLS re-starting. The European soccer leagues kicked off last month in home markets without spectators.

“I think resuming league play is a good idea,” he said. “You can argue whether this is the appropriate way to do it or not, but I think it’s fantastic we’re starting the league again. Players are excited to play. Everyone involved in the sport wants to get back to competition.

“Obviously, with a pandemic and the issues surrounding it, it’s not easy. We’re well aware of it. Overall, a large majority of the people here want to be here. Listen, there are going to challenges and issues along the way when you’re testing for the virus every other day, getting on buses traveling to training, there’s a little wear and tear on you mentally. But this is what we’d rather be doing anyway, instead of quarantined in a house or apartment in Boston. I don’t know why anyone would be complaining about being here. This is what we do for a living and we’re going to get the opportunity to do it. So, I’m excited for this competition to start.”

Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja agreed: “Concerns and worries started months ago, when this pandemic started in every corner of the world. At this point, when we committed to this project of getting here and trying to get MLS back and getting into the protocols, we feel fine, we feel safe, it’s normal that there is risk around.”

“What is happening to other teams is obviously not good news, but we are totally focused on the competition and trying to follow the restrictions, the protocols and trying to be safe.”

Asked if he was concerned about Florida’s surging cases, including more than 9,000 on Wednesday, Arena replied: “We’re in a bubble environment. The rest of Florida is immaterial. We could be in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, anywhere else. We’re in a protected environment. We certainly feel for any issues in Florida, but we’re isolated from it and in a very safe environment.”