Inter Miami 2, Atlanta United 1. Josef Martinez 2 goals

An action-packed South Florida sports weekend included one of the most dramatic match ups of this Inter Miami season as forward Josef Martinez, the one-time face of Atlanta United, played against his former team for the first time and delivered a storybook night.

Martinez, suffering through the longest goalless stretch of his MLS career, started the game on the bench, but ended up scoring both goals in a 2-1 Miami win against the Atlanta team which bought out his contract and let him go in January. Martinez had scored 98 goals for Atlanta and won the 2018 MLS title and league MVP trophy in the red and black striped jersey.

The Venezuelan, overcome with emotion, called the night “the strangest moment of my life”, adding that he just wanted to go home. “I was out there after with my son, with friends I have known a long time, with people who were with me at the most difficult moments of my career, so it feels strange,” he said. “It is a mix of joy and sadness.”

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With the two goals, Martinez snapped his seven-game scoring drought and reached 100 MLS goals. He did it in 142 games, the fastest any player has reached that milestone.

The first goal was on a penalty kick in the 59^th minute, just one minute after Martinez entered the game. The shot came on his first touch of the night after Little Havana teenager David Ruiz, making his first MLS start, was taken down in the box.

Starting forward Leo Campana was assigned to take penalty kicks, but Martinez asked for permission to take it. He stepped up to the spot and launched his shot to the right back corner past Quentin Westberg, an Atlanta goalkeeper who knows Martinez well.

Asked how he felt before the taking that PK, Martinez replied: “I was very nervous. That and the day my son was born were the most nervous times of my life. I didn’t know if Leo wanted to take it, but I asked him for it. There was a lot of pressure on me. The first goal is the hardest. It was a beautiful moment I will never forget.”

As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, the crowd of 16,750 (which included retired NBA star Tony Parker, and Atletico Madrid standouts Antoine Griezmann and Koke) erupted as Martinez leaped into Campana’s arms. Within seconds he was swarmed by the entire team. He scored on the south goal, just below a sizable contingent of Atlanta fans who made the trek for the game. He nodded toward them after the goal.

Then, in the 75^th minute, Martinez scored again, sprinting to receive a DeAndre Yedlin through ball and taking a difficult sliding low right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box to the bottom left corner. That goal was reminiscent of so many he had scored for Atlanta in years past, and he celebrated with his trademark kneel.

“I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of love for them,” Martinez said of his former Atlanta teammates and fans. “What happened, that was in the past. I want to thank them for everything because nothing is forever. It’s soccer. It’s life. One day you’re here, the next day you don’t know. What a game.”

Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said he had a hunch Saturday would be Martinez’s night and told him so. The team vowed before the game to win for Martinez and to make sure he scored.

“We’ve been speaking to him all week about this was going to be his game,” Neville said. “If there’s ever going to be a game where a script was written, this was it.”

Neville said he toyed with starting Martinez, but decided he would be better off the bench when the game was stretched, and they needed a second center forward.

“All players suffer at times, and he’s suffered, not just now but also at the end of his time at Atlanta, so we have to build him back up again,” Neville said.

The game got nervy toward the end after Miami left back Franco Negri was ejected in the 84^th minute with a red card for a dangerous, studs-up tackle. Miami was left a man down for the final six minutes of regulation and nine minutes of added time. Atlanta’s Andrew Gutman closed the gap to 2-1 in the second minute of added time and the visiting team had a few more good chances, but Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender stepped up.

“We defended for our lives at the end,” Neville said.

Two local teenagers were in the starting lineup together for the first time – 18-year-old Benja Cremaschi of Key Biscayne, making his second start, and 19-year-old Ruiz in his debut. The young midfielders were fearless.

“There were no more outstanding performances than our two homegrown players,” Neville said. “They showed courage in the first half when some of the team was lacking belief.”

Midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro missed a second game in a row with a hamstring injury, and said he may be out as long as four weeks.

After a six-game losing streak, Miami has won back-to-back games (plus a U.S. Open Cup win over Miami FC) and moved up from 12^th place to 10^th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-6-0 record.

“During the run of 0 and 6 we suffered a lot of adversity and criticism, which was right, and I told them before the game that it made us stronger,” Neville said. “The last two victories against Columbus and Atlanta are big statements.”

Miami returns to DRV PNK Stadium Tuesday night for a U.S. Open Cup fourth round game against Charleston Battery.

This story was originally published May 06, 2023 11:48 PM.