Three Up, Three Down: Inter Miami flops without Messi, loses Open Cup final 2-1 against the Houston Dynamo.
Playing in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship without Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, the Herons turned in a lackluster first half, playing as poorly as we’ve seen. Still, we’re committed to choose three Inter Miami players who most impacted the match, and three who didn’t. Here we go!
![Inter Miami CF forward Leonardo Campana battles for a header against Houston Dynamo midfielder Griffin Dorsey. Inter Miami CF forward Leonardo Campana battles for a header against Houston Dynamo midfielder Griffin Dorsey.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3075,h_1729,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/502/01hbdrf8tnmrdczk0q8d.jpg)
Facundo Farias, C+
[KEN] I almost chose not to list any starting player among my “Three Up,” so poorly did I think they played in the first half, but Farías DID thread a lovely assist through to hit Martinez in stride racing into the box. It was a beautiful moment for a talented young player.
[MATT] It's not that I'm disagreeing with Ken, but I honestly don't think there's a starter that deserves to be "up" in this piece. I know he had a strong ball through to Martinez, but that was it... I mean really... that was it. Otherwise, it was pretty "meh" from Farias.