10-Man Hartford Athletic Fight Back to Claim Point Against Louisville City
Kyle Edwards 88th minute header earned the Latics a result against a tough Eastern Conference opponent
Hartford Athletic fought back from down a goal and a man to claim another point on Saturday night, drawing Louisville City 1-1 at Trinity Health Stadium. It was a second consecutive draw for the Latics following last weekend’s nil-nil result against Detroit City, moving them onto five points on the season — which combined with Tampa Bay’s loss to RIFC — is enough to fully lever Hartford off the bottom of the Eastern Conference and leave the Latics only three points out of the playoff places.
The first half was by and large, a desultory affair with neither team producing much in the way of golden opportunities. Louisville were largely content to sit back, defend well, and allow Hartford to possess the ball to not much effect. Through the first 35 minutes, the best chance for either side had probably fallen to Louisville with Philip Goodrum getting the ball at his feet in the box but he proved unable to do anything with that opportunity.
The visitors did ultimately get on the scoreboard first when,following a fast break opportunity, Goodrum atoned for his earlier error and slotted a shot past Antony Siaha to give his side the lead. It was the first goal scored by an away team at Trinity Health Stadium since March 29 when Wahab Ackwei scored El Paso Locomotive’s winner in the 86th minute.
The remainder of the first half played out similarly, with neither team particularly on the front foot but Hartford continuing to struggle to manufacture much in the way of meaningful opportunities. When the halftime whistle blew, the visitors were in control of the game, and Hartford desperately needed to find some kind of cutting edge in the second half.
In fact, the second half opened with the edge even more towards the visitors, with Louisville outshooting Hartford three-nil through the first 20 or so minutes, as well as gaining an edge in possession. It then felt like any chance that Hartford might have to get back into the game evaporated when Adewale Obalola was sent off in the 67th minute for a second yellow card.
However, the setback seemed to spur the Latics on, and while they had not registered a shot in the second half up to that point, they began to create some real opportunities including an excellent one for Mamadou Dieng in the 81st minute, when a headed ball fell to his feet but he could only drag his shot wide from close range. It seemed like that might be the last best chance for Hartford, but in the 88th minute, Kyle Edwards headed home a Sebastian Anderson corner to earn his side a valuable point. It was Edwards’ sixth goal as a substitute since he entered the league during the 2020 season.
The good result was somewhat marred for the Latics by some altercations after the final whistle, which resulted in Emmanuel Samadia being assessed a red card, but ultimately, it was another valuable point at home against Eastern Conference opposition, as Hartford slowly tries to get its season on the right track.