Deshane Beckford Launches Hartford Athletic To Victory Over Detroit City
Danny Barrera picks up his first assist of the season, and Renan Ribeiro made a series of great saves to preserve three critical points for the Latics
Evening thunderstorms gave way to clear skies in Hartford on Wednesday as the Latics earned a first-ever win over Detroit City behind a goal from Deshane Beckford and some excellent goalkeeping from Renan Ribeiro.
Detroit had the better of the ball in the first 45 minutes - more than twice as many touches in the opposition half as Hartford - but good chances for the visitors were few and far between. It was the home team that threatened more often, with Thomas Vancaeyezeele having the pick of the opportunities when he drew a fine save from Nate Steinwascher in the 19th minute.
A few moments later, the Latics went ahead after some careful buildup play left the ball with Danny Barrera on the left-hand side. An inch-perfect cross found Deshane Beckford in the middle of the box and the forward powered the ball past a sprawling Steinwascher.
Hartford had chances to add to their lead before half-time but were unable to do so — and with Detroit unable to find a cutting edge either — there were no more goals and the teams headed down the tunnel with the score 1-0 to the hosts.
In the second half, both keepers had to rise to the moment as the teams found more of a groove in attack. Steinwascher came up big to deny Michee Ngalina when the Hartford forward was through on goal. The Detroit keeper kept his team in the match again moments later, with an excellent save on Beckford after Mamadou Dieng had done well to fight off a defender and play his teammate into an excellent position.
Hartford thought they had doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Dieng put home his own rebound, but the flag was up for offside in the buildup. Steinwascher had one more great save in the 79th minute, when Beckford tried a curling shot from outside the box, but the Detroit keeper was equal to the task and kept his side in with a chance.
In stoppage time, it was Ribeiro’s turn to shine when he tipped a curling effort from Rhys Williams wide of the mark to preserve the lead. The final whistle blew a few moments later, giving the Latics their first victory since the middle of June.
Hartford now goes on the road to take on Birmingham Legion on Saturday, wrapping up a stretch of three games in eight days.