Cavaliervs.Inter Miami

In leg one, the reigning Jamaican Premier League champions suffered a narrow 2-0 defeat against the Herons in a much tighter match than many had anticipated.

Match preview

Last Thursday against Miami, we saw a predictably passive Cavalier team, with only 31% of the possession, yet they held strong for most of the match.

Rudolph Speid's men gave the Herons a real scare, looking dangerous in transition throughout the opening half, hitting the woodwork in the 33rd minute.

In the end, a lack of individual quality seemed to make the difference, though there were many positives for them to take away from leg one, such as holding Miami off the scoresheet for an hour.

While there was a lot to like about this side's cohesive play and defensive organisation, winning by two goals seems like a tall task, as they have only won one domestic match by that margin since the beginning of 2025 (3-0 win at Molynes United).

Cavalier are winless in their six home matches played this year, all in the Jamaican Premier League, scoring a goal or fewer in four of those encounters.

The last time they hosted a Champions Cup fixture at Independence Park, they suffered a 2-0 defeat against MLS side FC Cincinnati, conceding in both first and second-half stoppage time.

It was a lot harder than even they probably could have imagined, but Miami persevered and are in a strong position now to make a second successive trip to the last eight of this tournament.

Javier Mascherano's side only gave up one targeted effort and were able to maintain their 100% record in the competition this year.

Miami are riding a four-match winning run across all competitions into this game, posting back-to-back clean sheets after defeating Charlotte FC 1-0 in MLS play on Sunday.

The Herons have never lost a Champions Cup tie when winning the opening leg but have also never won an away match in this tournament.

So far in 2025 though, Inter Miami have won their only two competitive fixtures played away from home, winning both matches by a combined margin of 5-1.

They have never won a CCC fixture when conceding the opening goal, losing once when drawing first blood at home to Monterrey in the quarter-finals a year ago (2-1).

Cavalier CONCACAF Champions Cup form:

L

Cavalier form (all competitions):

Inter Miami CONCACAF Champions Cup form:

W

W

W

Inter Miami form (all competitions):

W

D

W

W

W

W

Team News

There were five newcomers in the Cavalier starting 11 versus Miami last week who did not begin their previous domestic match, with Jerome Zidon McLeary, Adrian Reid, Jalmaro Calvin, Jamilhio Ritgers and Shaquille Stein all coming into the fold.

Vino Barclett was particularly sharp between the sticks, facing five targeted efforts and saving three in his side's spirited first leg performance.

Inter Miami have rested captain Lionel Messi for four successive encounters due to load management, while Marcelo Weigandt, Robert Taylor and Fafa Picault have hamstring strains and Maximiliano Falcon is doubtful because of a quad injury.

Tadeo Allende finally broke the deadlock in leg one, scoring on 61 minutes, before Luis Suarez made it 2-0 seven minutes from the end, with Oscar Ustari collecting a clean sheet, and the Argentine will be eligible to play on Thursday despite his red card in MLS action this past weekend.

Cavalier possible starting lineup:

Barclett; Smith, Laing, R. King, Ainsworth; Reid, Watson; Calvin, Atkinson, Auvray; Stein

Inter Miami possible starting lineup:

Ustari; Fray, Lujan, Martinez, Alba; Redondo, Busquets, Segovia; Gressel, Suarez, Allende

We say: Cavalier 0-1 Inter Miami (Inter Miami advances 3-0 on aggregate)

The opening leg may have been a warning not to underestimate the Jamaicans, but even so, we do not believe that Cavalier have the individual talent to match what the Herons can boast.

Written by

Joel Lefevre

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