Hartford Athletic Beaten On Road By Loudoun United
Poor form away from home continues as Latics are shut out again
Hartford Athletic continued to struggle on the road, dropping their seventh straight game away from Trinity Health Stadium, also failing to score for the fifth game on the road this season and the third game in a row.
The opening ten minutes of Wednesday night’s contest didn’t produce much joy for either team with the hosts having two shots from outside the box blocked without causing any trouble for Renan Ribeiro in goal for Hartford.
A more aggressive press than the Latics have been able to employ for some time did produce some opportunities. Michee Ngalina seized a loose ball down the left-hand side and worked his way into the box but was unable to get enough on his cross and the Loudoun keeper was able to gather it easily. Hartford continued to apply pressure down that side of the pitch over the next few minutes but were unable to turn possession in dangerous areas into a shot on goal.
Loudoun broke through in the 25th minute when some sloppy defending from the Latics allowed them to quickly advance down the right-hand side. A ball into the box could only be headed on by a Hartford defender and it fell to Wesley Leggett who finished easily to give the home side the lead.
After conceding, Hartford enjoyed a brighter period of the game, continuing to generate dangerous opportunities down both sides but struggling to turn them into shots on goal; a problem that has plagued this team this season. Younes Boudadi probably had the best of these chances but his shot from a difficult angle was easily saved.
The hosts should have doubled their lead in the 42nd minute when Florian Valot was found unmarked in the box but Renan Ribeiro got enough on it to reduce the pace of the ball to a trickle and Joe Farrell was able to clear it off the line.
In stoppage time, the hosts finally did take a deserved 2-0 lead. The Hartford defense missed a runner, and good ball movement by Loudoun resulted in it finding the feet of Zach Ryan who placed the ball into the bottom corner from just outside the box.
Loudoun picked up the second half where they left off, with Wesley Leggett easily beating his man down the side and crossing the ball into the box for an even easier finish for Ryan.
A continued spell of pressure for the hosts did not produce any additional goals, and the Latics were able to work their way back into the game but were also unable to produce any goals despite good opportunities for Deshane Beckford and Michee Ngalina.
Loudoun continued to control the game, finding it all too easy to get runners in behind the Hartford defense or pick out an unmarked man. Wesley Leggett continued to be the most dangerous man on the pitch, beating his man to get into the box and going down under a challenge that was adjudged not to be a foul, and then nearly scoring off a deflection when pressuring Ribeiro a few minutes later.
Even with Leggett subbed off, golden chances continued to pile up for the hosts and it required a fine save from Ribeiro to keep Abdellatif Aboukoura after he ran through several defenders in the 69th minute.
As Hartford pressed forward searching for anything at all in the attacking third, Loudoun had some more good opportunities on the counter but ultimately they came to nothing — despite hitting the frame in stoppage time - and the game finished 3-0 to the hosts. The Latics have an extended break before taking on Charleston Battery to close out the first half of the season.