Hartford Athletic Come From Behind to End Las Vegas Lights Unbeaten Run
Goals from Mamadou Dieng and Michee Ngalina enough for the Latics to take all three points
Hartford Athletic continued its run of good results at home with a 2-1 victory over Las Vegas Lights on Saturday night. The result marks their third win in three meetings between the two clubs, and ended the Lights eleven-game unbeaten run.
The Latics started brightly in the first half as Marcus Epps slipped Mamadou Dieng in behind inside the first minute but the forward couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet and Las Vegas Keeper Raiko Arozarena was able to smother it. Only a few minutes later, it was Dieng’s turn to provide, when he whipped in a cross that went all the way across the box to Michee Ngalina, but Arozarena was able to save the resulting shot.
Despite the bright start for Hartford, it was Las Vegas who struck first. A Latics corner turned into a fast-break going the other direction, with Khori Bennett finding himself one-on-one with Renan Ribeiro. The forward made no mistake, slotting the ball into the back of the net to give the visitors the lead in the 10th minute.
Following the opener, Las Vegas had a spell where they were clearly on top and their possession-based style began to take its toll. However, despite fashioning a series of good opportunities, they were unable to add to their lead and were soon made to pay the price.
Hartford was able to draw level in the 25th minute. Ngalina released Emmanuel Samadia down the left-hand side and the full-back launched a dangerous ball into the box. Dieng escaped his marker and latched on to the end of the cross, placing his header perfectly past Arozarena to even the scores.
After the equalizer, the game calmed down a little, and while both teams had opportunities neither was able to add to the scoreline. One blemish for Hartford in this stretch was an apparent injury to Anderson Asiedu, who had to be replaced by Deshane Beckford.
As the half came to a close, the Latics had another golden opportunity with Ngalina evading two defenders to work his way into the box but his resulting shot was well saved by Arozarena and the scores remained level at the half.
Hartford continued to apply pressure out of the gate in the second half and it paid dividends in the 53rd minute when Ngalina picked the pocket of Lights defender Grayson Doody and immediately curled the ball past Arozarena for his team-leading eighth of the season.
Seven minutes of stoppage time seemed like an age to Hartford supporters but when the final whistle blew, the Latics had secured all three points and can look ahead to a visit from conference leaders Louisville City next weekend.