Clinched: Hartford Athletic Secure Playoff Spot With Win Over Sacramento
Jonathan Jimenez struck in second-half stoppage time to give the Latics the win by the odd goal in five
Hartford Athletic clinched a first playoff appearance since 2020 on Saturday night, as a strike by Jonathan Jimenez in second-half stoppage time earned them a 3-2 victory over Sacramento Republic. The victory also took Hartford to 44 points on the season, level with the 2024 season for the best points return in a single season in club history, and the Latics have reached that marker in six fewer games.
Out of the gate, Sacramento was probably on top of the game on Saturday.
“They were excellent in the first 20 minutes,” head coach Brendan Burke said. “They had us off balance. They were playing quick, it was hard to close guys down.”
Nonetheless, it was actually the Latics who struck first with Sebastian Anderson providing the goal in the 18th minute. Marlon Hairston produced an excellent long ball into the box that found the feet of Anderson, but the fullback still had a great deal to do to beat Danny Vitiello. His first touch was excellent, bringing the ball under control and allowing him to bypass the Sacramento keeper and roll the ball into the back of the net. It was Anderson’s 12th goal contribution of the season, giving him three goals to go along with nine assists in all competitions.
Hartford’s second goal came in the 38th minute and was also excellently worked. Joe Farrell sprayed the ball out wide to Michee Ngalina, who found Kyle Edwards with a header. Edwards touched the ball back to Ngalina in the box, and the forward fired past Vitiello to double Hartford’s lead. It was also the 12th goal contribution of the season for Ngalina, who now has six goals to go with six assists in all competitions, and gives him 25 goal contributions for his Hartford career, making him just the fifth player in club history to reach that mark.
Sacramento pulled one back right before the break. Dominik Wanner found space out on the left-hand side and then put in an excellent cross that found Jack Gurr at the back post. Gurr took his shot first time, and although Antony Siaha got a hand on it, he couldn’t keep it out of the back of the net.
It was an unwelcome return to earlier failings for Hartford, as giving up goals in stoppage time had been a problem earlier in the season, but while it was a moment that might have led some observers to think ‘here we go again,’ Hartford manager Brendan Burke was unbothered.
‘“We actually said at halftime, no one’s going to come in here and yell,” Burke said. “We’re going to talk about a few tactical adjustments and then we’re going to talk about substitution patterns, so you guys know what’s about to happen.”
Despite that perspective, it was still Sacramento that had the edge right out of halftime and leveled the score almost immediately. Christian Parano did the hard work to maintain possession, and then played in Wanner who fired a shot past Siaha to make it two-all.
Republic almost immediately had a chance to take the lead, with Lewis Jamieson firing wide after being played into space just four minutes after the equalizer. Hartford subsequently managed to work their way back into the game, with chances becoming scarce for either side past the hour mark.
There was a fracas on the sideline in the 84th minute, following a hard foul on Ngalina by Sacramento’s Aaron Edwards, which resulted in yellow cards not only for Edwards, but also for Hartford’s Siaha and Adewale Obalola, as well as one issued to the bench. It appeared that Siaha was fortunate to dodge harsher punishment for a shove on a Sacramento player, but Brandon Stevis limited his intervention to just a caution.
With temperatures rising, the game still hung in the balance as the teams headed for seven minutes of added time, and it was Hartford who found the breakthrough.
A ball into the box was knocked down by Obalola, and Hadji Barry backheeled it into the path of Jonathan Jimenez. Jimenez took an excellent touch to open up space for himself and then unleashed an effort towards Vitiello’s goal. The shot may have taken a slight deflection, but it curled past the Sacramento keeper for Hartford’s third goal of the night.
It’s the 12th time this season that the Latics have scored at least three goals in a game, including the U.S. Open Cup and the USL Jägermeister Cup. It’s also only the second time this season that Republic have conceded as many as three goals in a game.
There were more scuffles between the sides as time wound down. For the second time in the last two meetings between the clubs, Sacramento finished a man short, as Aaron Edwards received a second yellow for a hard foul on Baboucarr Njie in the ninth minute of added time.
With a playoff place locked in, Hartford’s focus now turns towards securing a top-four seed and a home playoff game. It currently sits third in the Eastern Conference, two points clear of Loudoun in fourth place, with NCFC a further point adrift, and Pittsburgh one point behind them.
The Latics will need to continue their good road form to secure their playoff seeding, with road trips to Tampa Bay and Louisville City looming. It’s a big ask, as the Latics have just two wins from 13 games against Tampa Bay, and only one from 10 against Louisville City but Brendan Burke is confident.
“We just beat Sacramento in a cup final in Sacramento in front of 12,000 people and then we turned around and got outplayed and still beat him at home,” he said. :So that’s how I feel now going into any game.”