Hartford Athletic Come From Behind to Down Westchester SC in USL Jägermeister Cup
The victory earned the Latics another three points in their group as they maintained their perfect record in the competition
Hartford Athletic claimed another three points in the USL Jägermeister Cup on Saturday, overcoming a brace by former Latic Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. and some shaky officiating to come from behind and get the victory on the road. A brace from Samuel Careaga twice brought the Latics from a goal behind, and Mamadou Dieng finished things off late to give Hartford the victory.
Ten minutes in, Westchester seemed to have more control of the game, holding nearly two-thirds of the possession as Hartford struggled to hold onto the ball, with its pass completion percentage dipping down into the low 70s. On the whole, the Latics seemed lacking in energy and urgency through the opening quarter of an hour. Their best chance in the early going came following a corner, when the ball was recycled and a dangerous cross from Joe Farrell was just over the heads of a few leaping Latics at the back post.
Catastrophe struck in the 23rd minute, when Antony Siaha stumbled as he was about to distribute the ball, and was forced to foul a lurking Juan Carlos Obregon Jr to prevent an easy goal. It seemed clear that the foul had occurred outside the penalty area, but the referee nonetheless pointed to the spot, and Obregon easily converted the penalty to give his side the lead.
After half an hour, the Latics had not been credited with a single shot, and their first effort in the 33rd minute was a tame effort directly at Andrew Hammersley. Another opportunity shortly thereafter came following a corner, but Adewale Obalola’s short was well saved by Hammersley from close range. At halftime, the Latics felt like a team that needed a spark; the game was by no means out of reach, but they felt disjointed in attack and sluggish in defense.
The spark came just over five minutes into the second half. Hartford had come out on the front foot, and got its reward in the 51st minute through Careaga. Mamadou Dieng headed the ball back to Sebastian Anderson on the right-hand side, and Anderson rolled the ball into the path of Careaga in acres of space. No Westchester player stepped up to challenge the midfielder, and he rocketed the ball into the far corner from distance for his first goal of the season.
Westchester restored their lead just moments later, and Obregon again was the danger man. Anderson misjudged a header, freeing Obregon down the left-hand side. He drove into the box, and Farrell’s challenge was misjudged, bringing down the player rather than winning the ball. The referee pointed to the spot for a second time in the game, and Obregon once again converted the penalty to put his side ahead.
The hosts could have added a third in the 64th minute when a turnover led to a three-on-two break, but Siaha was out quickly and smothered the danger, atoning for his earlier error that led to a goal.
Careaga bagged his second of the night in the 75th minute to restore parity. After Hartford kept the ball alive in the box, Jonathan Jimenez rolled the ball across the top of the penalty area for a late-arriving Careaga, who picked out his spot to level the scores again.
Hartford finally grabbed a lead in the 88th minute, with Dieng being credited with the goal following a corner. Emmanuel Samadia’s cross was knocked down by Kyle Edwards, and Dieng was in the right place to poke the ball home ahead of Westchester keeper Hammersley. It was Dieng’s 15th goal in all competitions for Hartford, drawing him level with Juan Carlos Obregon and Prince Saydee for second all-time for the club, trailing only Danny Barrera.
Things started to boil over in second half stoppage time, with several hard tackles from Westchester players drawing the ire of Hartford players, but the minutes ticked down without anything more in the way of meaningful opportunities, and when the final whistle blew, the Latics had claimed all three points.
It was a good result for Hartford, as it now has six points in the USL Jägermeister Cup group, and sits tied at the top of Group Four with RIFC having the goal differential advantage. With Cup games against Detroit City and RIFC to come, it’s a good position for Brendan Burke’s men to be in, and will hopefully help them maintain some momentum as they enter a difficult stretch of games in the USL Championship.