Hartford Athletic 0 Rhode Island FC 0: Three Hartford Things
Antony Siaha, a thin squad, and a lack of consistency highlight a road draw for the Latics
Hartford Athletic claimed a hard-fought point at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket on Saturday night, as a heavily rotated squad ground out the last of three games in an eight-day stretch. Antony Siaha was the hero for the Latics, but the result also highlighted some bigger problems for the club, which remain mired at the bottom of the table in the Eastern Conference.
1 - Antony Siaha: When He’s Good, He’s Very Good
The Hartford shotstopper’s 2025 season has been adventurous, to say the least. He’s capable of highlight-reel saves, but is also prone to gaffes, as on Wednesday when he twice made the questionable decision to chase the ball out of the box, and had to be bailed out by his teammates. On Saturday, it was mostly the former (although Siaha was far enough out of his box at one point in the first half to tempt Noah Fuson into a shot from around the halfway line).
The highlight was in the 69th minute, when Albert Dikwa thought he had scored from very close range after an excellent cross from JJ Williams, only for Siaha to save brilliantly with his left leg. Hartford manager Brendan Burke labeled the save “game-changing” and “what we went out and got him for.” Siaha also did well to hold on to a Williams header later in the half and generally controlled his area well throughout the game. After the game, he drew attention for ‘shushing’ the RIFC fans (and a little more), but in some respects, that goes with the territory with Siaha: he plays with intense passion that sometimes leads him into errors, but is also what drives his successes.
With a player like that, you have to take the bad with the good, but performances like this one make some of the misadventures easier to swallow.
2 - A Rotated Squad Highlights A Thin Roster
To say that Hartford’s squad was heavily rotated on Saturday is something of an understatement. Junior Moreira — who hadn’t made an appearance since May 31st and has two appearances totalling seven minutes of playing time in the last ten games — got a start, and Adrián Diz Pe, who has played more than 15 minutes just once since the beginning of May, was also in the first eleven.
Given the circumstances — three games in eight days — rotation was inevitable, but the fact remains that Hartford simply doesn’t have enough players for the long grind of a USL Championship season. With 19 outfield players on the roster — two of whom are Kauan Ribeiro and Spencer Gordon who are rarely used — there’s simply no room for injury, suspension, international duty, or simply the necessary rotation to keep players healthy over a long season. With Jack Panayotou still missing through a hamstring injury, and Kyle Edwards still working his way back to full fitness, the Latics went into Saturday night’s game at less than full strength once again this season.
There’s nothing to indicate that the club is about to add to the roster so this game underscores the larger problem for Hartford. There will be more weeks to come that involve multiple games or lengthy road trips, and it will not get any easier to pick up critical points, particularly on the road. With a squad as thin as this one, Hartford might be in serious trouble down the home stretch of the season.
3 - Lack Of Consistency Becoming Hartford’s Trademark in 2025
Hartford’s lack of consistency this season informs this result: if they had won on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, this would have made for seven points in a tough week. Instead, it’s just four, and ‘missed opportunities’ remains the feeling around the team, particularly as they continue to languish in the cellar of the Eastern Conference.
Late goals conceded in games against Indy Eleven and North Carolina also cost the Latics points, and while tonight they did well to hold on to claim a tough road point at the end of a busy week, it’s hard to feel like the team is building or will be able to sustain any momentum. Some of this is connected to the thinness of the squad: with all the games missed by key players, it’s been difficult to build anything coherent. At the same time, some of it is down to the players on the pitch. Defensive miscues and squandered opportunities in front of goal have marred nearly every game this season, and as the Latics round out the first half of their league season against New Mexico United later this month, there is no real sense that these things are being ironed out.