Hartford Hit Road for Louisville City Matchup
Hartford Hit Road for Louisville City Matchup
Latics aim to restore energy, earn result from tough away game
Hartford Athletic heads to the River City to take on nine-time Eastern Conference finalists Louisville on Saturday night, looking for a result after back-to-back losses to NYCFC II and San Antonio FC last week.
While the Latics have typically started games on the front foot, last Saturday’s matchup with SAFC was a different story.
“We have to take accountability for what we were in that game, which was incredibly flat,” said manager Brendan Burke when speaking to the media on Wednesday morning. “[We] didn’t have our normal pop from the first half.”
The early goal for San Antonio left Hartford chasing the game, and while they were able to equalize before halftime through Marcus Epps’ first goal for the club, the boys in green were never quite able to take control.
Forward play for the Latics has been excellent in the early going: Romario Williams has three goals and an assist in all competitions, Deshane Beckford has two goals, Marcus Epps and Michee Ngalina each have a goal and an assist, and Enoch Mushagalusa is off the mark as well. Burke praised the attacking players during Wednesday’s press conference but added that some changes might be necessary.
“We need, probably, some shake up in other spots,” he said. “We need a little more pop than we showed up to that game with.”
His comments might foreshadow a change to the first XI, particularly with Marlon Hairston and Jordan Scarlett both likely to be available in the next few weeks.
“The group needs a change,” Burke added. “I told the group that after the game, we can never be that flat, it’s unacceptable to lose at home in that fashion.”
Saturday’s opposition are the closest thing the USL Championship has to royalty, as they’ve turned their nine consecutive conference semifinals into four trips to the championship game and two titles (in 2017 and 2018). After a slightly down regular season last year - only finishing fifth in the conference - they are back to firing on all cylinders so far in 2024.
The only blemish on City’s record so far this season is a 3-2 loss to Charleston (a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference final), and Louisville played that game on only three days rest, coming off a 5-3 victory over Indy XI. Otherwise, they’ve been sterling, leading the league in both expected goals and actual goals (both adjusted to a per-game basis) and playing excellent defense along the way.
While City are loaded with talent - including 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Arturo Ordoñez - the early standout has been forward Wilson Harris.
“I don’t think there’s a better forward in the league right now,” said Burke.
It’s hard to seriously dispute this assessment. Harris’ seven goals have him tied for the league lead at this juncture of the season and the 24-year-old appears to be back in the groove after a bumpy 2023 season.
The talent extends up and down the roster: Seattle Sounders youth product Ray Serrano has been on fire in the early going, key offseason additions like Taylor Davila have made their mark, and while club legend Cam Lancaster moved on in the offseason, veterans like Niall McCabe, Sean Totsch, and Brian Ownby are still around to help bridge City’s past and future.
Hartford will aim to generate some early energy in this one, with an emphasis on keeping the home side from settling into the rhythm of the game.
“If we don’t put them off balance and the game is comfortable for them, they’ll roll us pretty easily,” said Burke.
Latics fans will be hoping to see the energetic press that has characterized most of their side’s games this season return on Saturday night.