Inter Miami 3-3 Cincinnati ( 5-4 on pens): Lionel Messi fairytale continues as The Herons book a spot in the US Open Cup final with ANOTHER penalty shootout win. Messi's mania showed no sign of stopping Wednesday night as Inter Miami picked up its cup from where it left off; with a penalty shootout win.
Inter Miami had lifted its first-ever trophy in the Leagues Cup final Saturday night but David Beckham's side is already eyeing another as it kept the chances of adding a second alive with a penalty shootout win over FC Cincinnati in the US Open Cup semifinal.
Cincinnati had cruised into a 2-0 lead after Luciano Acosta opened the scoring for the MLS leaders in the 18th minute before Brandon Vazquez doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half.
Leonardo Campana handed the visitors a lifeline as he pulled one back from a Messi cross at the 68th-minute mark. Yet, the World Cup winner still seemed to be facing his first defeat in an Inter Miami shirt.
But that hasn't been the script since the Messi miracle hit Miami and Wednesday was not going to be any different.
Once again, Messi inspired the comeback for Miami. Just had he did on his debut, the Argentine delivered another last-gasp moment of magic.
In the seventh minute of added time, Messi received the ball on the edge of the box and delivered a sublime ball for Campana to once again get his head to, sending the clash to extra time at the death.
Miami took the lead for the first time when Josef Martínez scored three minutes into the first extra period, but Cincinnati equalized when Yuya Kubo scored in the 114th minute, forcing penalties - Miami's second shootout in a week.
Messi made Miami's first attempt in the shootout, and both teams were perfect through four rounds.
Once again, Drake Callender provided the heroics, saving Cincinnati's fifth spot-kick from Nick Hagglund before 18-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi stepped up to slot the winning penalty home and send Tata Martino's men through to their second final.
Cremaschi quickly was met by his teammates after the ball hit the back of the net, and they danced around in a group circle on the field while FC Cincinnati players knelt in disappointment after seeing another opportunity for the club´s first trophy off the table.
'I think we were lacking sharpness to navigate that first half,' Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said through a translator.
'We were a step off. I saw a team with one gear less than our rival. The good thing about all of this is that we didn´t drop our shoulders, we pressed on. It´s not easy in a semifinal to turn things around the way we did. We adapted a lot. I think we were controlling the game well in the second half. And the penalties, after that ... If I´d had this kind of luck in penalties for the rest of my career, things would have been a lot less stressful.'
Houston beat Real Salt Lake in the late semifinal to set up a showdown against the Herons on September 27.
