Miami host Las Vegas Lights in the Group Stage of the USL Championship, and the visitors took all three points with a 0:1 win. The scoreline was decided by a single moment in the first half, but the match itself told a different story of control and frustration for the hosts.
M. Arteaga broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, and from that point Miami were chasing the game. The hosts worked a short corner in the 46th minute when M. Romero came on, but the substitution did little to shift the momentum. By then, the visitors had pinned them back with their organisation.
Las Vegas Lights kept their side in it with disciplined defending, and Miami paid for a sloppy opening. The hosts created one big chance but failed to convert, and Arteaga picked up a yellow card in the 61st minute for a challenge. G. Probo also went into the book for Miami in the 76th minute as the visitors looked to hold every card they had.
The statistics tell you where the game was lost. Miami had 47 percent possession and 34 attacks, but only six shots on target against five saves from the Lights goalkeeper. The visitors registered three shots on target and kept their clean-sheet run going. Shots accuracy of 38 percent for Miami meant chances went begging, and there is no value left at that number when you are chasing a game.
Miami sit ninth in the table with 23 points from 23 games, eight defeats among them. Las Vegas Lights sit one place above them on 29 points, and this result moves them closer to the play-off places. The hosts had won two of their last five but could not find the rhythm they needed today. The Lights, meanwhile, refused to go away and got over the line when it mattered.