Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami falls to Houston Dynamo in US Open Cup final

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — Inter Miami lost in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday, falling 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo with its talismanic player, Lionel Messi, watching from the sidelines.

Messi, who has already helped catapult the team to its first major trophy in its history since joining in July, missed the game through injury but was in attendance at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium.

And in his absence, Miami looked out of sorts as Houston raced into a two-goal lead in the first half through goals from Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi.

Although Josef Martínez scored late on in injury time to give Miami hope, Houston was able to hold on for the club’s fourth major trophy and first under head coach Ben Olsen.

“It’s huge for the club, it’s huge for the team. It’s huge for everybody in Houston,” Houston right back Dorsey told CBS sideline reporter Susannah Collins afterwards.

“I think we’ve had a rough stretch as Houston Dynamo and this is something that’ll put us on the map and show that we’re a team to compete in the MLS, Open Cup, Leagues Cup, whatever cup we’re playing in, whatever league we’re playing in.”

Olsen – a former US men’s national team player and US Open Cup winner as head coach of DC United – paid specific tribute to his midfield of Héctor Herrera, Coco Carrasquilla, Bassi and Artur as the reason behind the victory.

“That’s where this game was going to be won or lost. If our central midfield played to their potential, we’d have a good chance of winning tonight. And they did,” he said.

“Particularly the first half, there was some beautiful stuff. Led by Héctor, Héctor I thought was incredible. Artur, I just expect that from Artur every game, the level he was at. Coco, going north and really driving by guys, is a nice compliment to them, and Bassi – it’s very organic.

“We give them a structure to have success, but a lot of what you see is feel, and relationships with those four in there, and it’s organic. It’s fun to watch, and they like playing with each other.”

For Miami, the defeat pours cold water on the optimism that has surrounded the club since Messi’s arrival earlier in the summer.

The 36-year-old has already led the club to the Leagues Cup and has helped it turn its fortunes around in the league.

However, with both Messi and his former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba missing the US Open Cup final through injury, Miami struggled to maintain a consistent attacking threat, rarely troubling the Houston defense.

After the defeat, Inter Miami manager Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino said a busy schedule has taken its toll on his team.

“What I saw was a worn-out team,” Martino said. “The reality is that we were eventually going to suffer the consequences of playing so many games.

“We’ve started feeling it in terms of injuries and we’ve started feeling it in terms of functionality.”

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