NYCFC look to complete sweep of Miami

New York City FC provided Ronny Deila with his first MLS regular-season win as the team's coach with a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami CF on July 20 at the MLS is Back Tournament.

That win ignited a 6-2-1 stretch for NYCFC (6-6-2, 20 points), who look for a clean sweep of the expansion rival on Saturday when the sides meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Alexandru Mitrita set up Ismael Tajouri-Shradi's goal in the 64th minute of the first encounter with Inter Miami (3-9-2, 11 points)

Mitrita didn't wait as long to etch his name on the scoresheet -- and into the NYCFC record book to boot -- after tallying just 30 seconds into last Saturday's 4-0 romp over FC Cincinnati.

The Romanian international scored again in the 43rd minute and Anton Tinnerholm and Jesus Medina also found the net for NYCFC, who reside one point shy of fifth-place New England.

"When you score early of course, it's easier to score more goals," Deila said. "The whole team performance was really, really good. We didn't give them anything, we kept a clean sheet and when you start scoring as well, it's another step in the right direction."

Tinnerholm's three goals are tied for the team lead with captain Alexander Ring, who is expected to play on Saturday after leaving with an undisclosed injury versus FC Cincinnati.

Inter Miami had been trending up after compiling a 2-1-2 mark to begin September before getting outscored 7-1 in their last two matches of the month.

New addition Gonzalo Higuain will make his home debut after being held in check in Sunday's 3-0 setback to Philadelphia. The Argentine striker nearly scored in the first half of his initial MLS match via a bicycle kick, however the ball caromed off the post.

"We're happy with his work and the work of the team and we need to continue to aim to perform better and minimize mistakes," Miami coach Diego Alonso said of Higuain.

--Field Level Media