Brendan Burke Has Hartford Athletic in "Great Shape" Ahead of Home Opener
"I just can't wait for the home fans to see the group now, I think it's a group unlike one Hartford's ever seen."
Defensive stability, attacking potential and testing depth — fans got a glimpse of what Brendan Burke’s new-look Hartford Athletic were capable of in their season-opening 1-0 road win over El Paso but a true evaluation of the side will become more apparent this weekend in their home opener vs. Birmingham Legion FC.
Burke took an optimistic outlook from the small sample size early in the season. A pair of bye-week friendlies against New England Revolution II and Boston College (3-1 win) kept the squad sharp following the win in El Paso, despite missing several key players on the weekend.
“We’re in great shape,” Burke said. “Four or five really key injuries, honestly, but we had the same deal in El Paso, and the guys we rolled out to start put on a really fantastic performance, and [are] all deserving to roll out again and start again. We’ll have to see what this weekend brings, but I’m comfortable if this was our starting 11 for the whole year, I’d be confident in this group — very confident.”
One of the more notable absences in the opener was former Sporting CP goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro. The offseason acquisition was one of the biggest in club history. The goalkeeper was kept out with a quad injury in El Paso (timeline unspecified), and while he was back in training this week, Burke said it remained unclear whether or not he will feature on Saturday.
The emergency signing of Paul Walters on a season-long loan from FC Cincinnati filled the gap between the sticks just days before the season-opener, despite Hartford already holding a three-deep keeper room that included 2023 USL League One championship-winning Brooks Thompson. The addition of Walters as a fifth goalkeeper dramatically emphasized one of Burke’s main strategies throughout the offseason — the utilization of depth to breed fitness and competition.
“[Ribeiro is] a really high-end keeper but Paul [Walters] stepped in and did an admirable job,” Burke said. “That’s why we brought Paul, we wanted to keep it really sharp. We do the same with our field players, we’re two or three deep in every position, and that makes for a frustrating situation internally sometimes for certain guys, but the reality is if you end up at the top end of our group you should fully mentally and physically prepared to play, and that’s what we’re after. That’s the most important thing.”
Despite the short notice, Walters stepped up when called upon in his USL Championship debut in El Paso, making three saves en route to his third career clean sheet in 20 appearances. Despite a few nervy moments as a whole from the back line, Burke was pleased with the overall defensive performance on the road in a game he said could’ve easily been much more lopsided.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Burke said. “A lot of the defending was from the front four, was from guys reconnecting and making sure we kept them outside our shape. You have to get away with a bounce here or there on the road, and I think we did, but I think they actually got away with a lot more, their keeper made three really high end saves in that game, I think we could’ve blown the doors off the game on a different day.”
Another key player missing on Saturday will be Romario Williams, his early spot kick in El Paso and subsequent USL Championship Team of the Week selection secured all three points for the Green and Blue in week one. Williams’ international call-up for Jamaica saw him feature deep into Thursday’s extra-time CONCACAF Nations League semifinal loss vs. the USMNT, where he came on in the 102nd minute in the 3-1 defeat. The veteran forward will remain with the team through their third-place match vs. Panama on Sunday.
“We’re confident that we can plug the hole, Rom[ario] is a big miss,” Burke said. “International call-ups happen when you have a good team.”
In terms of their opponent, a stout test awaits them in a Birmingham team who have yet to miss the postseason in its five years as a club. Saturday’s visitors hold a 1-4-1 all-time record vs. Hartford — including a 1-0 win at Trinity Health Stadium that spoiled their home opener last year.
“There’s a lot of MLS-level quality on their team,” Burke said. “They’re solid in every position, they always have been. The reality is they’re an experienced group…They’re well built, they’re well constructed from a roster-building standpoint, they’re well-coached, they’re disciplined with their defensive shape. You need things to break you’re and you have too be pragmatic about how you approach them. You can’t expose yourself too much.”
Kickoff from Trinity Health Stadium is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday on ESPN+, WTNH.com or MyTV9.