James Sands scored a goal in the 95th minute to help New York City FC to a 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Sands converted a Santiago Rodriguez cross from a corner kick to earn NYCFC its second draw of the season against Inter Miami. The two clubs played out a 1-1 draw on March 30.
The result was a setback to Miami’s quest for the MLS Supporters’ Shield and regular season points record.
With four games to go, Miami needs 10 points to surpass the New England Revolution’s 2021 mark of 73 points. Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s side finished the game with a nine-point lead in the battle for the Supporters’ Shield, although several teams below them still had games in hand.
Matthew Freese blocked a shot for NYCFC (11-11-8, 41 points), whose winless streak extended to nine games (0-3-6). Their last victory was a 2-0 triumph over CF Montreal on July 3.
Miami’s Leo Campana scored in the 75th minute after assists from Messi and Jordi Alba.
Drake Callender stopped three shots for Inter Miami (19-4-7, 64 points), which is 5-0-2 in its last seven MLS games. The Herons’ last loss was a 6-1 loss to FC Cincinnati on July 6.
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, was playing his third game since returning from an injury sustained in the Copa America final on July 11.
The Herons played without star Sergio Busquets for personal reasons, according to the Miami Herald. His Instagram page showed that he recently got engaged to his long-time partner.
Campana made an immediate impact after coming on as a substitute for Robert Taylor in the 72nd minute. Messi ran up the field and slipped a pass to Alba, who promptly fed Campana on the doorstep, who easily converted the ball.
The goal was Campanas’ eighth of the season and his second in as many games.
NYCFC recorded the only shot on goal and had five corners during a scoreless first half.
Messi almost opened the scoring in the fifth minute, but his direct free kick from outside the box flew just wide to the right of the goal. Luis Suarez also had a prime chance, but it was denied when Taylor accidentally ran into his shot.
Information from Field Level Media contributed to this report.
