Lionel Messi fans in Puerto Rico eager to see their hero in an Inter Miami friendly match Thursday night had to wait until the second half, and he delivered a memorable moment, scoring the winning goal on a penalty kick in a 2-1 win over Ecuadorean club Independiente de Valle.

Miami coach Javier Mascherano left most of the starters on the bench for the first half in a game that was rescheduled from the preseason due to Messi’s injury a few weeks ago. The game at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel drew a sellout crowd of 12,500.

Thursday’s game started an hour late due to an issue with uniforms. Both teams wound up wearing all black uniforms, which is highly unusual and made it difficult to watch.

The final minutes of the game were also disorganized. The match was interrupted in the 88th minute when several pitch invaders ran onto the field and attempted to meet Messi. One of them knocked Messi over as security guards restrained him. Messi got up, the fans were removed and play resumed.

Mascherano said before the game that he would use the exhibition match to give minutes to players who did not play or played little during the MLS season opening match vs. LAFC last weekend, which Miami lost 3-0.

He was not going to take any unnecessary risks because Inter Miami resumes league play on Sunday on the road against state rival Orlando City.

“This game gives us the opportunity to see players who had fewer minutes in the preseason and our first league game, but we will try to make sure all players get minutes,” Mascherano said before the game. “Obviously, we must be careful because in 72 hours we have a very important game against Orlando. More than the fact that we lost last weekend, the most important thing is always our next match.”

Defender Ian Fray and midfielder Yannick Bright were the only starters from the season opener who started in Puerto Rico. The rest of the lineup included goalkeeper Rocco Rios-Novo, who made several big saves, Facundo Mura, Gonzalo Lujan, Cesar Abadia-Reda, David Ruiz, Alexander Shaw, Santi Morales, David Pinter and Luis Suarez wore the captain’s armband in the absence of his good friend Messi.

Midfielder David Ayala did not travel to Puerto Rico due to a personal matter, according to an Inter Miami official.

Suarez, the 39-year-old Uruguayan legend, provided a perfect pass to 19-year-old Santi Morales, who made a nice finish to give Miami the lead at the 16-minute mark. It was the first professional goal for Morales, son of Inter Miami assistant coach Javi Morales. He leaped in the air and got hugged by his teammates.

“This is a moment I have been waiting for and dreaming about for a long time, scoring my first goal,” Morales said. “To be able to help the team win is an incredible feeling. When I saw Lucho [Suarez], I know he would give me the perfect pass, so I ran, and just like that I could score. I felt adrenaline and joy in that moment.”

But the celebration was short-lived. Patrik Mercado scored the equalizer for Independiente two minutes later.

Although the game was a friendly, things got chippy as the first half wore on resulted in a brief skirmish in the 20th minute.

The game remained knotted 1-1 at halftime.

Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, Tadeo Allende and Maxi Falcon entered the game in the second half to the delight of the crowd. They replaced Morales, Pinter, Bright and Fray. Noah Allen, Telasco Segovia and German Berterame came in at the 61-minute mark, replacing Ruiz, Shaw and Mura.

Messi gave fans the moment they were hoping for in the 70th minute, when he converted a penalty kick with a left-footed shot to the top right corner to push Miami ahead 2-1.

Center back Micael went in a minute later, replacing Cesar Abadia-Reda and Joseph Convers went in for Suarez. Paraguayan forward Carlos Gonzalez nearly scored in added time, but Falcon made a great clearance at the line to preserve Miami’s lead.

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