Hartford Athletic Fall Again on the Road
Another late goal continues the club's poor run of results away from Trinity Health Stadium
Hartford Athletic fell to yet another road loss when a late goal by Juan Herrera gave Sacramento Republic all three points in a late-night affair on the west coast. It’s the third time in four games that the Latics have conceded a goal after the 80th minute to lose.
Soaring temperatures in Sacramento had dropped somewhat by the time of the 9 pm kickoff but both teams nonetheless opened the game in somewhat sluggish fashion. The first 20 minutes saw no attempts on goal as both teams probed for an opening but there was very little in the way of real attacking activity from either side.
As the first half wore on, the Republic began to exert more control of the game, moving their possession of the ball up the pitch and into Hartford territory but chances remained few and far between. The first good chance of the match came in the 40th minute when Jack Gurr whipped in a dangerous ball and a late-arriving Christian Parano got his head to the ball but could only put it just over the bar.
By halftime, the hosts were clearly on top - with more than twice as many touches in the opposition half as the visitors - but had nothing to show for it, and the teams headed down the tunnel with the score level at nil-nil.
Hartford had some early opportunities in the second half - with Deshane Beckford and Danny Barrera both trying their luck - but Sacramento soon began to reassert themselves and bring the game much more into the Hartford half. Their reward was three decent opportunities before the hour mark, but Renan Ribeiro was equal to the task and kept the score level.
While possession continued to to tilt more strongly toward the home team, the Latics continued to have chances but Beckford and Ngalina were unable to find the back of the net. The teams continued to trade opportunities and the Republic had another good chance go begging when Damià Viader could only drag his shot past the post after some good build-up play.
The breakthrough for the hosts finally came in the 87th minute. Kieran Phillips tried a shot from outside the box and Ribeiro made the initial save but could only spill the ball into the path of the onrushing Herrara, who finished neatly to give the hosts the advantage.
In stoppage time, Hartford did generate some last-ditch chances with Danny Vitiello saving well from Mamadou Dieng and a last-ditch free kick in a dangerous position giving a glimmer of hope, but ultimately the Latics couldn’t find a breakthrough and fell to their sixth consecutive road defeat. They now have a quick turnaround for a Wednesday night road game against a Loudoun United team that just took down Tampa Bay Rowdies.