Assessing The 90: Shorthanded Hartford Fall Just Short Against Tampa Bay
A makeshift Green and Blue squad took the lead and put up a valiant defensive display on Saturday, but ultimately fell at the death against the second-place Rowdies.
After a dramatic 24 hours that saw Hartford barely scrape together a 14-man squad for their weekend trip down south, Omid Namazi’s squad were just minutes away from escaping Al Lang Stadium with a point vs. the second-placed Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday.
However with a brand new goalkeeper and only three substitutions to work with on the bench, a result against one of the league’s top sides was always going to be a tough task for the Green and Blue. Ultimately, that proved to be the case as Hartford once again collapsed at the death, falling to their fifth-stright loss in stoppage time.
Following Thursday’s news that 10 Hartford players — including both goalkeepers — were unavailable for the trip after a COVID outbreak in the squad late in the week, Hartford were forced into a last-minute scramble to field a team after requests to postpone the game were not entertained by the USL Championship.
Left with under 24 hours to find a starting goalkeeper, among other necessary pieces, Hartford ended up making a pair of signings on Thursday to bring their match day squad total to 14 players. One of those signings was former Penn State forward Daniel Bloyou, who’s initial 25-day contract had expired on August 28 without any further extension pursued by Hartford. Alongside former University of Massachusetts starting goalkeeper Marvyn Dorchin, the pair were brought in on 25-day contracts to fill a depleted Hartford squad just hours before the match.
With both Joe Rice and Richard Sánchez among the ten players out with COVID, Dorchin got the start in goal, pushed into action less than 24 hours after meeting his teammates for the first time. Triston Hodge, Niall Logue and Robin Lapert joined the French goalkeeper centrally on defense, while Edgardo Rito and Ash Apollon filled out the wingback roles.
Elsewhere, Danny Barrera, Andre Lewis, Antoine Hoppenot and Luke Merrill made up the midfield, leaving Elvis Amoh up top as the lone striker.
Perhaps as a consequence of a more defensive game plan, the majority of the first ten minutes was spent in the defensive half for Hartford, who pinned numbers behind the ball as Tampa controlled attacking possession. The hosts struggled to generate any true goalscoring opportunities in the early stages, however, and Hartford were able to hold the second-place team scoreless through the majority of the first half.
Just 12 minutes in, Hartford Athletic’s first real venture into their attacking half would result in a shock lead for the Green and Blue, courtesy of Elvis Amoh’s fifth strike of the year. It came when the forward received a ball from Andre Lewis outside of the 18 with his back to goal, spinning around three defenders before escaping everyone and unleashing a powerful left-footed strike into the top left corner to give Hartford the 1-0 lead.
It was the first time Hartford had struck first in a game in five matches, dating back to a 5-2 loss in San Antonio in late July. The lead was their first since a 2-1 triumph over New Mexico United on August 5.
Despite seeing only 28% possession in a first half that forced Hartford to defend for their lives amongst a slew of Tampa chances, the Green and Blue would hold strong defensively through the majority of the first half, limiting Tampa to only three shots. Of those three efforts, only one found the target, forcing Dorchin into his lone save on the night in the 22nd minute when he confidently collected a redirected header from close range.
In the midst of a half almost entirely played in Hartford’s defensive half, Amoh’s early effort was one of only a pair of chances for Hartford. The second came late in the half when Edgardo Rito’s effort was headed goalward from inside the box, before taking a knock off the head of a defender and out for a corner.
Tampa would go on to punish Hartford just minutes later in first half stoppage time, jumping out on the counter after the resulting corner was cleared away as Cal Jennings got on the end of the pass the other way and made a sprinting run down the right wing. Confronted by a pair of Hartford defenders, the speedy forward’s quick feet drifted through the pressure at the top of the box before sending a left-footed rocket past a diving Dorchin and into the top left corner to knot the match at one headed into the break.
The Rowdies picked up where they left off in the second half, turning up the pressure against a Hartford squad that had only three options to turn to on the bench. The hosts would continue to control the ball in the attack throughout the half, sending a staggering 28 crosses into the box compared to Hartford’s three. However, the hosts lacked a finishing touch throughout the night, only directing a single shot on frame throughout the half.
One of their better chances of the night came in the 57th minute, when Cal Jennings found himself on the end of a defense-splitting pass in the box with a golden chance to secure his brace. Dorchin was quick to anticipate the chance, however, sliding off of his line to deny the one-on-one opportunity to keep the game deadlocked.
Despite the lopsided numbers, Hartford continued to fight, keeping themselves in an increasingly nervy second half up until the dying stages. Unfortunately for the Green and Blue, the lone shot on target for the Rowdies came in the 90th minute, and it was enough to beat Dorchin and give the hosts all three points at the death.
For the second time in three weeks, it was a former Hartford man that delivered the killer blow against his former club, as Ariel Martinez got on the end of the cross from close range, touching the ball around a defender at the edge of the six before slotting a composed finish into the bottom left corner.
Besides a pair of missed chances from Antoine Hoppenot from inside the box in the second 45, Hartford struggled to generate much in the attack throughout the half as a valiant defensive effort fell just short. The 2-1 result was Hartford’s fifth-straight loss, and seventh of the season when tied at the half. The late goal was also the fifth such game-losing strike that Hartford have conceded in second-half stoppage time on the season.
Despite the result, Hartford put up a defensive effort to remember in a situation where they seemed doomed from the start. Forced to play without 10 of their core players, a brand-new goalkeeper and a very shallow bench, a win against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference was always going to be tough, and Hartford Athletic certainly made the Rowdies work for the result.
With their season almost certainly void of any remaining hope, the Green and Blue will return home on Saturday to face the Rio Grande Valley Toros, in an effort to give their fans something to cheer about in what has otherwise been a fairly miserable 2023 campaign heading into the home stretch.